NSIC RELEASE
BURNSVILLE, Minn. – Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Commissioner Butch Raymond announced today that Augustana student-athletes
Molly Kokesh and
Annie Pfeifle have received the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award.
The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to senior NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their eligibility and are on track to graduate. Each student-athlete will be recognized by the NSIC with a certificate of achievement and a wrist watch. A total of 85 student-athletes from the NSIC's 14 institutions will receive the award in its third year.
“The NSIC is excited to have this opportunity to honor an elite group of our student-athletes for their accomplishments. We feel very privileged to name the award after Dr. Brand in recognition of his strong support and the continued emphasis he placed on academics in the 'Life in Balance' theme of Division II,” Raymond said.
Kokesh, a native of Scotland, S.D., is a member of the women's cross country and track and field team. Kokesh finished 22nd at the NSIC Championships in the fall of 2012 before placing 70th in the NCAA Central Region meet.
Pfeifle, from Rapid City, S.D., is a member of the women's cross country and track and field team at Augustana. Pfeifle registered a fifth-place finish at the NSIC meet, 12th at the regional meet and 57th at the NCAA Championships.
Dr. Myles N. Brand, visionary leader, educator and reformer, served as the President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 2003-2009. He passed away in September 2009 at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Brand presided over passage of the most comprehensive academic reform package for intercollegiate athletics in recent history – a package that refocused the attention of student-athletes, coaches and administrators on the education of student-athletes. Brand also changed the national dialog on college sports to emphasize the educational value of athletics participation and the integration of intercollegiate athletics with the academic mission of higher education. His impact on Division II ran deep by implementing an identity campaign and a strategic-positioning platform tied to specific divisional attributes. He challenged Division II to continue its game-environment and community-engagement focus, and improve academic success rates.
