Life in the Balance
MSUM is seeking a new Director of Athletics and, although we’ll ultimately search the nation to fill this important role, we started by searching within: examining our core values and commitments so we could clearly articulate them to potential candidates. This process affirmed our deep commitment to the NCAA Division II philosophy, Life in the Balance.
At MSUM, Life in the Balance means that our student-athletes’ holistic well-being is at the center of our athletics programming. The members of our sports teams aren’t athletes who happen to be students. They’re students who happen to be athletes. Yes, they’re talented and fierce competitors who often earn regional and national honors in their sports, but they’re also successful students who prize academic excellence and work equally hard to achieve it.
This balanced approach is evident in the academic accolades earned by our student-athletes. For example, nearly 200 Dragons were named to MSUM’s Athletic Department Honor Roll for fall 2021. All of them earned at least a 3.25 grade point average and 30 of them earned a perfect 4.0. At the conference level, the NSIC awarded 39 MSUM student-athletes All-Academic honors for the fall season.
Nationally, 87 Dragons received the Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award for their performance during the 2020-2021 academic year. And, in a collective effort, MSUM’s women's basketball team was named to the 2020-21 Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll (for the sixth consecutive year) with the fourth-best grade point average in Division II.
This level of academic success doesn’t happen by accident. It reflects not only our student-athletes’ dedication to their studies, but also MSUM’s dedication to our student-athletes’ holistic success.
Life in the Balance is more than a slogan. It’s a core commitment—and one we’ll be seeking in our next Director of Dragons Athletics.
Dr. Anne Blackhurst served as Minnesota State University Moorhead’s 11th president from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2023.
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