Today the NCAA announced their 2021 finalists for the NCAA DII Award of Excellence. The University of Minnesota Duluth was announced as the representative from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). 

Twenty-eight schools and one conference have been named finalists for the 2021 Division II Award of Excellence, an accolade recognizing initiatives in the past year that exemplify the Division II philosophy, community engagement and student-athlete leadership. One finalist was chosen from each of the division's 23 conferences. The last time there was a nomination from each conference was in 2015. Six additional finalists were picked as at-large honorees for submitting a strong nomination that was not chosen as the finalist for their conference.

Division II honors its members each year for conducting events that promote student-athletes giving back and serving as leaders within their communities or on their campuses. A committee of athletics administrators determined this year's finalists, and the national Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee selects the winner, who will be announced at the Division II business session Jan. 15 at the virtual 2021 NCAA Convention.

Each finalist will receive $500. The winner will receive an additional $2,500, while the runner-up will receive $1,250 and third place will receive $1,000. All prize money is intended for future SAAC initiatives or community engagement events.

UMD men's basketball coach Justin Wieck started his "Vote Challenge" which challenged all Bulldog student-athletes to get registered to vote. His challenge videos became a hit on social media and within the local media. We are proud to report that prior to Coach Wieck's challenge videos about 35% of student-athletes were registered to vote; following the challenge videos, on election day over 90% of Bulldog student-athletes were registered to vote! Coach Wieck used his time and his platform to encourage student-athletes at UMD to use their voice in the 2020 election and beyond. The effect was striking, as almost all UMD student-athletes voted in such an important election.