WIAA Announces 2020-21 Award of Excellence Recipients; Marshfield, Stratford, Wausau West included

The award promotes and recognizes the efforts and achievements of schools in the areas of sportsmanship, ethics, integrity, leadership and character. For the second straight year, schools and athletics administrators experienced additional challenges in 2020-21 with the COVID-19 pandemic to account for guidelines, accommodations and schedule changes.

The recipients of the Award of Excellence, presented to high schools that have verified they have met each of the award’s criteria, are:

Baraboo
Beaver Dam
Brookwood
Crivitz
Divine Savior Holy Angels
Elkhorn
Fort Atkinson
Germantown
Hilbert
Hortonville
Janesville Craig
Kenosha Christian Life
Kimberly
Lake Holcombe
Lake Mills
Madison East
Madison La Follette
Madison Memorial
Madison West
Marshfield
Mayville
Muskego
Onalaska
Oregon
Stoughton
Stratford
The Prairie School
Watertown
Wausau West
West Bend West
Winnebago Lutheran
Winter
Wisconsin Dells

Two of the 33 schools, Baraboo and Stoughton, are receiving the honor for the fifth time in the five years since the award’s inception. Five of this year’s recipients are being presented with the award for the fourth time, including Brookwood, Fort Atkinson, Kimberly, The Prairie School and Watertown. Nine schools are receiving the recognition for the first time.

Recipients will be presented the Award of Excellence at the fall Area Meetings, which will be conducted in-person, and will be recognized for the achievement on the WIAA website and at the 2022 Annual Meeting.

The criteria applied toward the Award of Excellence include:

* Athletic Director maintains and updates all information in the WIAA School Directory annually.

* Athletic Director does due diligence in striving to achieve staff compliance with all WIAA coaching requirements (i.e. rules video, exam, officials’ rankings)

* Athletic director conducted regular occurring meetings with a Captain’s Club/Team Leadership Council/Etc. – sportsmanship, ethics and/or integrity is on the agenda and is discussed

* Athletic director conducted regular occurring meetings with coaches – sportsmanship, ethics and/or integrity is a topic that is on the agenda and is discussed

* Athletic director conducted at least one informational meeting with student-athletes and their parents – sportsmanship, ethics and/or integrity is a topic that is on the agenda and is discussed

* Athletic director attended conference meetings – sportsmanship, ethics and/or integrity is a topic that is on the agenda and is discussed

* Coaches and student-athletes attended a sportsmanship summit/leadership conference/etc.

* There was school representation at one of the seven WIAA Fall Area Meetings

* There was school representation at WIAA Annual Meeting in April

* Athletic Director made the student body aware of sportsmanship initiatives through school assemblies, announcements, posters, etc.

* Three or more athletic teams gave back to their school or community through volunteerism

* Athletic director has taken the Free NFHS Sportsmanship course

* Three or more head coaches have taken the Free NFHS Sportsmanship course

* Athletic program had no coach ejections at any level

* Athletic program had no coach or player assault of an official at any level

* Athletic director nominated/submitted a boy and/or a girl for WIAA Scholar Athlete recognition (either for local or state level recognition)

The WIAA, as defined by its Constitution, is a voluntary, unincorporated, and nonprofit organization. The membership oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 516 senior high schools and 48 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. The WIAA sponsors 27 State Championship events for boys and girls