NAIA Champions of Character®
Montreat College Athletics is proud to be a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Champions of Character® program.
The Champions of Character program is designed to instill an understanding of character values in sport and provide practical tools for student-athletes, coaches and parents to use in modeling exemplary character traits. The NAIA has been informally teaching character development through athletics for decades. Now, our core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership are addressed comprehensively in the Champions of Character program.
Launched by the NAIA in 2000, the Champions of Character program addresses character issues more comprehensively than any other national program for youth. The program currently reaches hundreds of thousands of students on nearly 300 college and university campuses in North America and extends into their surrounding communities.
The NAIA Champions of Character program is an educational outreach initiative which emphasizes the tenets of character and integrity, not only for NAIA college students, but for younger students, coaches and parents in our communities.
Coaches, parents, administrators and community partners all have a role in developing students of character. The NAIA Champions of Character program brings them training, guidelines and behavior models to create positive environments that promote personal growth and fun sport activity.
The Champions of Character Scorecard measures each institution's commitment to the NAIA's Champions of Character initiative. Institutions earn points in character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. From 2017 through 2025, Montreat Athletics institutionally received Champions of Character Five-Star Award recognition. The distinctions of those honors are as follows:
2024-25: Five-Star Silver
2023-24: Five-Star Gold
2022-23: Five-Star Bronze
2021-22: Five-Star Gold
2020-21: Five-Star Gold
2019-20: Five-Star Gold
2018-19: Five-Star Gold
2017-18: Five-Star Gold
The NAIA also annually recognizes student-athletes, coaches, administrators and teams for displaying extraordinarily high levels of character and athletic excellence. Montreat's national honorees include:
2017-18: Men's Cross Country (Buffalo Funds Five-Star Champions of Character Team Award)
AAC Champions of Character
Many of Montreat's athletic teams and student-athletes have been recognized by the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) as Champions of Character. Team and individual honorees demonstrate the NAIA Champions of Character core values both on and off campus, as well as in academics and athletics. Montreat's AAC Champions of Character honorees are as follows:
2024-25: Ethan Stamey (Male Athlete), Dylan Garcia (Female Athlete), Anthony Barringer (Coach), Men's Cross Country (Team), Women's Basketball (Team)
2023-24: Wyatt Baggett (Male Athlete), Sydney Jordan (Female Athlete), Jason Lewkowicz (Co-Coach), Men's Cross Country (Team), Women's Cross Country (Team)
2022-23: Jenna Mallory (Female Athlete), Jason Lewkowicz (Co-Coach), Men's Track & Field (Team)
2021-22: Payton Landy (Female Athlete)
2013-14: Jordan Lukacena (Male Athlete)
2011-12: Jared Nielsen (Male Athlete)
2010-11: Benjamin Hall (Male Athlete)
2009-10: Stephen Jackson (Male Athlete), Erin Cross (Female Athlete)
2007-08: Thomas Nicholson (Male Athlete)
2006-07: Timothy Lewis (Male Athlete)
2005-06: Timothy Lewis (Male Athlete)
Montreat Champions of Character
From 2002 to 2012, Montreat Athletics recognized our own student-athletes that exemplify the core values of being a Champion of Character by selecting a female and male Champions of Character. The winners of those awards are as follows:
2012: Jared Nielsen and Caroline Mellard
2011: Ben Hall and Caroline Mellard
2010: Stephen Jackson and Lyndsey Wall
2009: Stephen Jackson and Erin Cross
2008: Thomas Nicholson and Stephanie Hosack
2007: Tim Lewis and Stephanie Hosack
2006: Tim Lewis and Stephanie Hosack
2005: Tim Lewis and Nicole Scheidt
2004: Sam Ivey and Kara Harding
2003: Sam Ivey and Lucy Kraska
2002: Peter Thompson and Amanda Duncan
