Mars Hill University Recognized as one of Top NCAA Schools for Service

Lions Place Third in Division II Award of Excellence

Mars Hill, NC (01/17/2025) — Mars Hill University student-athletes' efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene helped the university to a top-three finish for the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence. The award was announced this morning during the NCAA convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Mars Hill was selected as the top school in the South Atlantic Conference on the way to the second runner-up position in the national rankings for outstanding community service, selected by the national Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

After the remnants of Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina in late September, MHU student-athletes quickly began to assist both on campus and in the surrounding areas, providing critical support for relief efforts. The Mars Hill athletics teams contributed hundreds of combined hours of community engagement across the campus and surrounding towns over the next few months.

"Our region was hit extremely hard. It's the worst disaster I've ever lived through or seen. And I tell people all the time, you can see the video on TV and social media, but until you saw it in person, it doesn't hit home," said Rick Baker, director of athletics at Mars Hill. "But literally the next day, our student-athletes that were on campus, our coaches, our faculty, our staff members, our athletic trainers, our president and executive vice president were all meeting and organizing relief efforts. We were going out into communities. We even had a group of student-athletes get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and unload supplies off a helicopter. Nobody complained. Everybody wanted to help. That was what was so refreshing to me, was how engaged they were and how they just wanted to give back."

In addition to a $750 prize for making the selection of 22 finalists out of nearly 300 schools in Division II, Mars Hill earned another $1,500 as the prize for second-runner up. All prize money is intended to be used for future SAAC initiatives or community engagement events. Division II honors its members each year for conducting events that promote student-athletes giving back and serving as leaders within their communities or on their campuses.

• Note to editors: additional photos are available at https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q8sZC7Wvq43PLrfu5.

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