KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The John Brown University department of athletics earned a perfect 100-point score in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Champions of Character Five-Star Awards, the national office announced Monday (July 28) afternoon.
The Golden Eagles joined 209 other NAIA institutions earning Five-Star status for the 2024-25 academic year. Within the Sooner Athletic Conference, only JBU, Wayland Baptist (Texas) and College of the Ozarks (Mo.) achieved gold tier recognition.
JBU's 2024-25 gold represents the Golden Eagles' second consecutive top-tier finish and fourth overall since the NAIA implemented gold-silver-bronze distinctions in 2013-14. John Brown previously posted gold in 2014-15, 2017-18 and 2023-24, with silver recognition seven times and bronze once in 2020-21.
The athletics program has earned Five-Star recognition every year since the program began in 2001-02, continuing a streak of 24 consecutive years.
John Brown maximized points across all five categories: character training through campus and community programs, academic focus based on student-athlete grade point averages, conduct in competition measured by ejections, character recognition through award nominations and presidential participation, and character promotion via websites and banners.
The Five-Star Award program launched in 2001-02 as the Champions of Character Institution Award, recognizing schools scoring 60-100 points. The NAIA added the current three-tier system in 2013-14, creating gold, silver and bronze categories within the Five-Star designation to better distinguish institutional performance levels.
The scorecard allocates up to 67 points for character training, 17 for character recognition, eight for academic focus and eight for character promotion. Additionally, institutions can lose up to 40 points for poor conduct in competition based on ejections for profanity, fighting and dissent toward officials. Institutions scoring 90-100 points earn gold, 75-89 silver and 60-74 bronze.
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