UMD's 2015-16 athletic season concluded with an All-American outdoor track performance by junior Breanna Colbenson on Memorial Day weekend and over the course of the previous nine months, the Bulldogs experienced a multitude of highlights -- including a few program firsts -- in each of the three C's (classroom, competition and community).

"It was another record-setting year of achievement for our student athletes, coaches and staff in the classroom, community and competition, " said UMD athletic director Josh Berlo  "The Bulldog athletics family continues to attain and strive for higher and higher levels of excellence. I could not be prouder of this fine group of student athletes, the exceptional coaches and support staff as we continue to work toward being one of the most successful NCAA DI/DII athletic departments in the country.
 
"Lastly, I wish to express the our sincere appreciation on behalf of UMD athletics to Bulldog Country for their ardent support in so many ways to help realize these milestones and to further build the infrastructure of support for our programs.  This year's broad based success is evidence of that progress."

Those noteworthy achievements included:

COMPETITION
• UMD produced 13 All-Americans, including senior first baseman Alex Wojciechowski, who was selected the NCAA Division II National Player of the Year by a five different organizations (American Baseball Coaches Association, the National College Baseball Writers Association, the Division II College Commissioners Association, D2BaseballNews and HEROsports.com.) Colbenson, meanwhile, hit the All-American trifecta -- cross country, indoor track (second in the distance medley relay and eighth in the mile run) and outdoor track (fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase) and was the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Assocaition Central Region Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year while her teammate, sophomore Emilee Trost, received that same honor for the indoor track season after reigning as the conference meet's top point producer. Wojciechowski, Colbenson (outdoor track) and Trost (indoor track) all received NSIC Player/Athlete of the Year citations in their respective sports. 

• The Bulldog men's hockey team advanced to their first-ever NCHC Frozen Four tournament in Minneapolis (where they fell to St. Cloud State in the title game) and the following week appeared in the NCAA Northeast Regional championship for the second consecutive season before being upended 3-2 by Boston College. The Bulldogs, who qualified for their fourth NCAA playoff berth in six years (something which had never been done in program history) and were one of just three teams to appear in a Regional final the past two winters, held down the No. 9 spot in the final USCHO.com Poll.
 
• The women's cross country Bulldogs seized team crowns at all four of their regular season meets and then ran off with the NSIC title as well. UMD qualified for its third straight (and seventh overall) NCAA II Championship and, behind All-Americans Colbenson and Trost, went on to place seventh – posting a third consecutive top 10 finish.
 
• Under the direction of first-year head coach Maura Crowell, UMD hit the road for the first round of the WCHA women's playoffs and downed No. 7 Bemidji State in back-to-back games for its first series sweep over a ranked opponent in over three years thereby reaching the WCHA semifinals, a feat it missed in two of the prior three seasons.
 
• Although they fell just short of making the NCAA II football playoffs for an eighth consecutive season (which would have been the second longest active run in the country), the Bulldogs still laid claim to their eighth NSIC North Division title in as many years. UMD closed the books on its 83rd season of competition by upending Fort Hays State University 30-22 in the Mineral Water Bowl to go 9-3 overall and was ranked 23rd in the final 2015 d2football.com poll.

• Senior setter Ashley Hinsch became just the second four-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American in the storied history of UMD volleyball (first team in 2014, third team in 2015 and 2013, honorable mention in 2012). She also captained the 2015 Bulldogs to a 23-8 record and a No. 10 rating in the final AVCA Association poll. During the early stages of the season, UMD held down the AVCA Polls's No. 1 spot for a school-record four weeks

• Jen Walter took over the Bulldog softball head coaching responsibilities and debuted in style, directing her troops to the most NSIC wins in program history. UMD went 35-17 overall and  21-7 in NSIC play to gain a share of second place in the league standings -- just one game back of regular season champion Minnesota State University-Mankato. For the first time since 2012, the Bulldogs also earned a NCAA Division II Central 2 Regional berth.

• For the first time in school history, both baseball and softball nailed down NCAA II Tournament berths in the same year. UMD's historic baseball season came to a close at the NCAA II Central Regionals, but not before the Bulldogs established a team record for victories (39, including a program-best 18 in a row during the last three weeks in April) and captured their first NSIC crown in 17 years. In all, some 56 team and individual career, single-season and single-game marks fell by the wayside and leading the onslaught was Wojciechowski. Selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 15th round of the 2016 Major League Draft, Wojciechowski exited the Bulldog program as its all-time hits, home runs, doubles, RBI, slugging percentage and total base leader. This past spring, he belted 33 homers and drove in 101 runs -- both of which were just three shy of matching the NCAA II single-season record.

• UMD checked in at No. 7 in the USTFCCCA NCAA II Program of the Year rankings for cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. The rankings were based on an institution's finish at the NCAA II Championships in those three sports (1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, 31st = 31 points, etc.) and only schools that qualified for all three national meets were eligible.

CLASSROOM
• UMD's 394 student-athletes, which includes redshirted freshmen, posted an average GPA 3.181 -- an all-time high (bettering the previous mark of 3.180 set one year earlier) --  in 2015-16 and of that group, 92 achieved GPAs of 3.50 or above and eight turned in perfect 4.00 marks. The volleyball Bulldogs registered the best collective GPA (3.45) of any UMD team during the 2015-16 school year while women's cross country (3.42) and women's ice hockey (3.36) were next. Bulldog student-athletes have now eclipsed the 3.10 GPA plateau in each of the last seven semesters.

•A total of 84 different UMD student-athletes qualified for a spot on the NSIC All-Academic Team at some point in 2015-16. In addition, a program-best 18 Bulldog men and 11 women earned All-Academic Team status from the NCHC and WCHA, respectively.

• Six Bulldogs representing five sports – Taylor Dillinger (women's basketball), Jake Harder (men's basketball), Kate McMahon (soccer), Katie Peterson (soccer), Sami Schynder (softball) and Kaitlin Wohnoutka (tennis) – were bestowed with a prestigious NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic Award for maintaining a 3.75 GPA or above during their college careers.

• Breanna Colbenson, who maintains a 3.88 cumulative grade point average as a public health/physical education major was a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American second team selection.

• USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country recognition was awarded to six women (Colbenson, Hannah Olson, Amber Seidenkranz, Erica Seidenkranz, and Emi Trost) while Grant Pulver attained the same honor on the men's side. In addition, for the 10th year in a row, the UMD men and women were both recognized as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team for maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above. Colbenson, Olson and senior Chanel Miller were USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field honorees and the Bulldog women were once locked down a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team citation.

• Harder, junior Charles Benson and sophomore Jake Wilson all secured a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court.  For the second year in a row, the Bulldog men's basketball team received an NABC Academic Team of Excellence citation for collectively producing a 3.0 GPA.

• Senior linebacker Mark Nahorniak earned National Football Foundation Honor Society distinction in recognition of his exemplary academic achievements

COMMUNITY
• UMD student-athletes and staff logged approximately 2,100 volunteer hours during the 2015-16 school year. UMD athletics launched a new mentoring program at Duluth's Laura MacArthur Elementary School, matching young boys and girls with 88 Bulldogs.

• Members of the UMD tennis team undertook a first-time project, "Bulldogs Not Bullies" in which they visited classrooms at Duluth elementary school and spoke to over 2,000 students about bullying.

• In addition to volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, Churches United in Ministry (CHUM), the Damiano Center Kid's Cafe, Arrowhead Juvenile Center, Second Harvest Food Bank, Minnesota Teen Challenge, Men as Peacemakers, and numerous local elementary schools (reading), churches, hospitals and youth sports organizations such as the Salvation Army Basketball League, the Duluth Amateur Hockey Association, the Duluth Girls Hockey Association, and Duluth Little League Baseball/Softball, the Bulldogs also were involved in a large number of charitable endeavors such as Mentor Duluth (Big Brothers/Big Sisters), Salvation Army's Adopt-A-Family, Habitat for Humanity, Adopt-A-Highway, Special Olympics, Make-A-Wish, the ALS Blizzard Tour, Essentia Health's Breast Cancer Awareness, UMD's Stop Domestic Violence Campaign, Lions Club Pancake Day, Locks of Love, Think Pink Night, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, UDAC's Walk a Mile in Our Shoes Walkathon, It's A Slam Dunk…Don't Drive Drunk, Grandma's Marathon, and the ALS Walleye Tournament.

• Through sales of UMD camouflage hats and commemorative coins along with individual donations, UMD raised just over $4,100 for Operation One Voice as part of the Bulldogs' second annual Military Appreciation Night at James S. Malosky Stadium on Sept. 12  Operation One Voice is a program designed by police officers, firefighters and community leaders to generate funds to help support the immediate needs of children and families of wounded and fallen Special Operations Forces.

• Seven individuals – the second-largest group ever -- were named finalists for the Shjon Podein Community Service Award, which has been presented annually since 2003 to a UMD student-athlete who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the field of play and has made noteworthy humanitarian contributions in the Duluth and University communities. That honor was bestowed on senior soccer forward Kate McMahon at UMD's Dinner With Champions banquet in April.

WORTH NOTING
• UMD's average men's hockey home attendance of 6,111 this winter was the fifth highest figure among the nation's 60 NCAA Division I hockey-playing schools. The Bulldogs also set a single-game attendance mark on Oct. 17 when 7,569 spectators packed AMSOIL Arena to see the home club throttle arch-rival Minnesota 3-0. Women's hockey saw increased attendance and posted the third-best attendance average (1,331) in NCAA Division I, an 18% increase over the prior season.

• To commemorate the 50th season of Bulldog women's athletics, UMD, in partnership with maurices, Northland News Center's My9 Sports Network and Essentia Health and in conjunction with UMD Commission for Women, held a year-long celebration. This endeavor honored the legacy of the last 50 years, established a fund designated to support Bulldog women's athletics in the future, saw unprecedented television coverage of women's hockey, volleyball and women's basketball and culminated with former Bulldog tennis letterwinner Dr. Stephanie Carlson of the Mayo Clinic serving as the inspirational keynote speaker for the 2016 Dinner with Champions banquet.

• UMD athletic director Josh Berlo was selected to chair the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's national search for the new women's commissioner while assistant athletic director Abbey Strong was appointed to a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Committee.

• In April, UMD athletics was awarded an Ethnic Minority and Women's Internship Grant from the NCAA for the 2016-17 school year.  This program provides funding for entry-level administrative positions at NCAA Division II schools and conference offices to encourage access, recruitment, selection and the long-term success of ethnic minorities and women. As part of the grant internship, the NCAA provides $22,500 to support the salary of the hired intern and $3,000 in professional development funding.
 
• Riley Tufte joined an elite group of Bulldogs in June when he was taken in the first round (25^th selection overall) of the NHL Draft in Buffalo, New York.  Larry Wright (8^th in 1971), Matt Niskanen (28^th in 2005) and Olsen (28^th in 2009) are UMD's other first-round draft picks Another incoming freshman winger, Joey Anderson, was the third-round choice of the New Jersey Devils in that same draft, pushing UMD's all-time total of NHL draft selections to 103.
 
• A pair of juniors -- Ashleigh Brykaliuk (third round) and Lara Stalder (fifth round) -- were both selected by the Boston Pride in the  National Women's Hockey League draft this past June.  During the 2015-16 season, eight former Bulldogs were on rosters of either NWHL or Canadian Women's Hockey League professional clubs.
 
• The largest football crowd to ever watch the Bulldogs in Duluth -- some 6,157 strong -- convened at James S. Malosky Stadium for UMD's 34-27 homecoming triumph over St. Cloud State on Oct. 10.

• UMD athletic sponsorship and ticket revenue topped the $3 million mark for the first time ever. The Bulldogs now have approximately 125 sponsorship partners and one of the strongest season ticket holders groups in the conferences UMD participates in. On the fundraising front, more than $1.83 million was raised during the 2016 fiscal year, which ended on June 30. This eclipsed the previous all-time high of $1.33 million set in 2014-15 and is 317% gain over the $438,713 raised just five years ago.  The $1.83 million includes current gifts and future pledges to the Bulldog Club Annual Fund as well as named scholarships, program support, capital projects, facility enhancements and various fundraising events. This marks the fourth consecutive year UMD athletics has surpassed the previous year's fundraising totals and the third time (all in a row) that total has exceeded $1 million.  More details will be published later month in the annual Bulldog Club report.

• Bulldog athletics produced a "You Can Play" video, featuring UMD student-athletes and staff who support equity and inclusivity for all.

• UMD was recognized for its innovative athletics marketing and fan-experience efforts this past June when it received five "Best of" Awards  -- three Gold, one Silver and one Bronze citation -- from the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA). For the complete story click here.

• In October, it was announced that college hockey's signature opening weekend event -- the Ice Breaker Tournament -- will be coming to AMSOIL Arena in 2017 with UMD serving as the host. Joining the Bulldogs in the four-team event will be national powers Minnesota, Michigan Tech and 2014 NCAA champion Union College. UMD last hosted a regular season men's tournament in 2001, when the four-team Silverado Shootout was held for a third, and final time, at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.

• @umdbulldogs now has over 10,500 Twitter followers -- the second most of any NCAA II athletic department in the nation.