The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct named Mike Rose of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and Sarah Dawn Schettle of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, as the 2006 NCAA National Sportsmanship Award winners.

The two were chosen from among six finalists — three male and three female — representing all three NCAA divisions. More than 40 conferences submitted nominations for the award.

Rose, a freshman decathlete last year, was honored for an incident at the 2006 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference outdoor track championships, an event in which he competed despite having suffered a broken arm (his non-throwing arm) earlier in the season. Because of the injury, Rose knew immediately that his throw of 51.34 meters in the javelin was likely a miscalculation.

Rose was in a tight battle for seventh place at the time, and even though accepting the incorrect mark would have increased his chance at a higher overall finish, Rose and his coach Bill Jordan alerted officials to the mistake. After a meet official initially refused to change the mark, Jordan and Rose spoke with members of the games committee. Eventually, that committee agreed to eliminate Rose’s first throw and allow an extra attempt. However, because he was injured, rather than take the additional throw, Rose accepted credit only for his last two attempts. The decision resulted in an eighth-place finish for Rose.

Rose, currently a sophomore physical education major, said that while he appreciates sportsmanship award, he took action because it was the right thing to do and he didn’t want his school to earn a bad reputation.

"One of the reasons I wanted the score changed was that the points I would have received from that distance would have moved me up a place in the final rankings. I didn’t want to take a place away from a kid who had truly earned it when mine would have been because of a mis-reading," said Rose. "It’s definitely nice to receive the award, but I didn’t feel like I deserved anything. I wasn’t doing it to receive anything or any praise. It was to make myself feel better about the situation."

Year-round sportsmanship

Like Rose, Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Schettle wasn’t looking for recognition, either, but the senior track and field and swimming student-athlete earned it anyway by consistently demonstrating good sportsmanship.

At the track, she cheers for every student-athlete in every event, and during warmups, Schettle will help other athletes practice their starts. She also helps set up hurdles. Beyond exchanging the traditional handshake, Schettle also is known for encouraging and congratulating competitors.

At swimming meets, Schettle clears each student-athlete’s block in addition to her own to ensure that everyone has a fair start. And as part of her community-outreach efforts, she co-founded an online mentoring program to connect current Wisconsin-Oshkosh students with alumni based on majors and career interests. She also has assisted with blood drives, helped with vision screenings for preschool-aged children and knitted and crocheted hats for newborn babies.

Schettle said she grew up in a Christian family and her parents taught her to treat others the way she would like to be treated.

"It’s easy to be decent to your teammates, but I think sportsmanship is a lot more than being a good winner or good loser. I think it’s how you act on a daily basis with your team and also with the people on opposing teams," she said. "If you win and absolutely everybody hates you because you are a poor winner, it’s not very meaningful. But, if you can win, or if you lose but have a good time and you’re with people you treat respectfully, I think it makes it so much more enjoyable as an athlete."

Although she hadn’t expected to win a sportsmanship award, Schettle said she was honored by the recognition and thanked her coach, Deb Vercauteren, for nominating her.

Ron Stratten, NCAA vice president for education services and liaison to the Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct, commended Rose and Schettle.

"The NCAA Sportsmanship Award was established to honor those student-athletes who through their actions display the values of respect, fairness, civility, honesty, caring and responsibility in competition or in practice. Sarah Dawn Schettle not only excelled in competition, but also in how she treated opponents and teammates. And what Mike Rose did was extraordinary. We hope each of our student-athletes aspire to such high levels of integrity on and off the fields and courts of competition."

In addition to receiving a plaque, Rose and Schettle will be honored next spring at the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance National Sportsmanship Awards banquet.

Additional winners

The other divisional winners were Anna Key, University of California, Berkeley (Division I); Parker Dalton, Texas A&M University, College Station (Division I); Rae Ann Sherred, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (Division II); and Nathan Edmunds, Middlebury College (Division III).

Key, who is heading into her senior soccer campaign as one of California’s goalkeepers, is credited with using her leadership and communication skills to maintain a high-quality training and game atmosphere among a trio of netminders for the Bears. She also reaches out to her teammates. In one instance, Key was instrumental in supporting a teammate through ACL surgery and recovery. She also launched an organization that works in alliance with Amnesty International.

Texas A&M’s Dalton, a baseball student-athlete, played a vital role in welcoming Tulane student-athletes who spent a semester at the College Station campus after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. As president of the Aggies’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, he organized a meet and greet for the Tulane and Texas A&M student-athletes, made sure Aggie student-athletes supported Tulane’s athletics events on campus and worked to ensure Green Wave athletes were as integrated as possible.

Sherred was recognized for her actions in the final seconds of the 2006 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference women’s basketball championship game between California University of Pennsylvania and Edinboro. Sherred stole the inbounds pass in the corner of the court late in the game with the score tied at 59, Sherred called a timeout while falling, but Edinboro already had used its allotment and a team technical foul was assessed. California (Pennsylvania) converted both foul shots plus a third after another quick foul to go on to claim the victory. Because reporters asked Sherred to attend the postgame press conference, tournament guidelines required her attendance. Under the circumstances, though, tournament and conference officials waived that requirement for Sherred; however, she chose to participate anyway and skillfully fielded questions about the difficult loss.

Middlebury’s Edmunds, a winner of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Arthur Ashe national award for leadership and sportsmanship, was honored for consistently demonstrating sportsmanship while leading teams to four NCAA tournament appearances and one national title. The three-time all-American and two-year captain of the squad has spearheaded the team’s volunteer efforts such as tutoring at a local Boys and Girls Club and working at a seniors home. Edmunds also has served as a mentor to younger student-athletes on and off the court.