Concordia University, Nebraska saved two surprises for the dedication of its newest building, the Health, Human Performance and Athletic Center, on Saturday: one surprise was artistic, the other mathematical. Concordia unveiled a massive bulldog sculpture and also announced that the school was the all-time leader in Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Concordia's student-athletes have received academic honors from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics academic 573 times.
The newly debuted 500-pound bronze bulldog now stands as the centerpiece of the HHPAC entry lobby. The bulldog statue rests his front paws on three books, fitting symbolism for the day’s other news.
"The student-athletes we work with are the future doctors, teachers, artists, scientists, executives and pastors in America," said Grant Schmidt, Concordia's athletic director. "They work hard. They take their future callings very seriously, and they absolutely make the most of their education while in college. They daily define the true meaning of a student-athlete and, ultimately, we as an institution are blessed with the best kind of students to coach, teach and grow with!"
"It was a real treat to do the math and learn that we were the all-time leaders in scholar-athletes," said Schmidt. "We have known that Concordia had a high number, but most schools in our conference also do. I think that says a lot about the quality of the GPAC."
The top four schools in all-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes are from the GPAC and four other conference schools are in the top twenty. In all, the NAIA has nearly 300 member schools.
All-time totals for Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes
School, Total
1. Concordia University, Nebraska (Seward), 573
2. Hastings College (Hastings, Neb.), 501
3. Doane College (Crete, Neb.), 432
4. Midland Lutheran College (Fremont, Neb.), 401
5. St. Ambrose University (Davenport, Iowa), 348
6. Azusa Pacific (Azusa, Calif.), 341
7. Cedarville University (Cedarville, Ohio), 337
8. Olivet Nazarene (Bourbonnais, Ill.), 336
9. Northwestern College (Orange City, Iowa), 334
10. Southwestern College (Winfield, Kan.), 328
11. Dana College (Blair, Neb.), 316
12. Malone University (Canton, Ohio), 303
13. Biola University (La Mirada, Calif.), 298
14. Dordt College (Sioux Center, Iowa), 284
15. MidAmerica Nazarene University (Olathe, Kan.), 273
16. (tie) Nebraska Wesleyan University (Lincoln, Neb.), 268
16. (tie) Taylor University (Upland, Ind.), 268
18. Indiana Wesleyan (Marion, Ind.), 262
19. Bethany College (Lindsborg, Kan.), 255
20. Graceland University (Lamoni, Iowa), 249
Numbers based on honors database queries at NAIAsports.org/honors/. NAIA honors information is also now available at NAIAhonors.com.