Student-Athlete Advisory Committee | 5/10/2023 9:50:00 AM

May 10, 2023-For the fifth straight year Emporia State Athletics finished in the top 15 of national community service. As a department the Hornets finished 11th in the nation in the final NCAA Helper Helper Report of 2022-23.  Emporia State recorded nearly 5700 hours of service to the Emporia and surrounding communities.
 
The NCAA Helper Helper Service Challenge is a national community service competition for NCAA DI, DII and DIII athletic departments and student-athletes. Schools are ranked from a combination of total hours per student-athlete and participation rate of teams. It recognizes schools for their outstanding commitment to volunteerism and community service. Participation in the Competition using the Helper Helper platform was open to all NCAA-affiliated schools.
 
A total of 340 Hornet student-athletes participated in over 30 different community engagement activities for a total of 5,687 validated hours during the school year. The activities included High Five Friday's at local elementary schools, downtown clean up with Emporia Main Street, Special Olympics Polar Plunge, making dog toys at the Emporia Animal Shelter, Laps for Landon, packing food at the Live United Bowl, and Special Athletics Track & Field Day among others.
 
"I am very proud of our student-athletes and coaches for making service to our community a priority. Our student-athletes find ways to give back to the community that supports them through a variety of ways," said Emporia State McNair Research Specialist and Faculty Athletic Representative Terri Summey. "One of my favorites is when we go out to the elementary schools to interact with the kids and to see the smiles on the faces of our student-athletes and the school kids. We are always striving to do better and look for new opportunities to give back."

Emporia State ranked #1 in the nation among men's basketball and baseball teams in the Helper Helper national team rankings.  The Hornets and Angelo State were the only teams in the top ten to also make the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
 
The Emporia State softball team ranked second among all Division II women's sports teams while Hornet basketball was the third ranked team among all men's sports.

"We are proud that service is a staple of our program. We are very intentional with our commitment to the Emporia area community and the great people within it," said Emporia State men's basketball coach Craig Doty. " Our men's basketball student-athletes embrace the impact and platform they have and the impact they are able to make. We are proud of them for their dedication to serving others."

The Hornet softball team ranked second nationally while the volleyball team was fourth.  Emporia State football, soccer, and women's track & Field/cross country each ranked ninth with men's tennis ranked tenth in the nation.

Every sport averaged at least four hours of community service per team member during the 2022-23 school year. The softball team recorded just over 904 hours of service for an average of nearly 53 hours per student-athlete while men's basketball clocked over 560 hours for an average of 37 hours per student-athlete.  In terms of total hours Hornet football had 1,403 hours and 44 minutes of service for an average of 11 hours per team member. 
 
As a department Emporia State had a 74% participation rate among their over 400 student-athletes with the baseball, men's and women's basketball, softball and women's track and field teams all at 100% participation from their team members

Over 43,000 student-athletes participated in the competition across all three NCAA Divisions, providing 428,599 hours of service to their respective communities.

NCAA Division II Community Service
Top 25 Overall
1. Georgian Court University
2. Arkansas Tech University
3. Texas Woman's University
4. Clayton State University
5. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
6. Auburn University at Montgomery
7. Missouri Southern State University
8. Coker University
9. Southern Arkansas University
10. Kentucky Wesleyan College
11. Emporia State University
12. Winona State University
13. Regis University
14. Lenoir-Rhyne University
15. Florida Southern College
16. Metropolitan State University of Denver
17. Wayne State University (Mich.)
18. Midwestern State University
19. Georgia Southwestern State University
20. Flagler College
21. Belmont Abbey College
22. Molloy College
23. Angelo State University
24. Florida Institute of Technology
25. Post University

Men's Basketball
1. Emporia State University
2. Clayton State University
3. Georgian Court University
4. Angelo State University
5. Auburn University at Montgomery
6. South Dakota School of Mines
7. Kentucky Wesleyan College
8. Lenoir-Rhyne University
9. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
10. Southern Arkansas University
 
Baseball
1. Emporia State University
2. Coker University
3. Regis University
4. Auburn University at Montgomery
5. Wayne State University (Mich.)
6. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
7. Southern Arkansas University
8. Metropolitan State University of Denver
9. Winona State University
10. Arkansas Tech University
 
Softball
1. Georgian Court University
2. Emporia State University
3. Missouri Southern State University
4. Kentucky Wesleyan College
5. Wayne State University (Mich.)
6. Southern Arkansas University
7. Arkansas Tech University
8. Metropolitan State University of Denver
9. Flagler College
10. Lenoir-Rhyne University
 
Volleyball
1. Arkansas Tech University
2. Angelo State University
3. Molloy College
4. Emporia State University
5. Regis University
6. Lenoir-Rhyne University
7. Georgian Court University
8. Missouri Southern State University
9. Florida Southern University
10. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
 
Football
1. Arkansas Tech University
2. Lenoir-Rhyne University
3. Missouri Southern State University
4. Limestone University
5. Winona State University
6. Franklin Pierce University
7. Kentucky Wesleyan College
8. Southern Arkansas University
9. Emporia State University
10. Angelo State University
 
Women's Soccer
1. Georgian Court University
2. Lenoir-Rhyne University
3. Coker College
4. Clayton State University
5. Florida Southern College
6. Midwestern State University
7. Florida Institute of Technology
8. Auburn University at Montgomery
9. Emporia State University
10. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
 
Women's Track & Field/Cross Country
1. Midwestern State University
2. Florida Southern College
3. Missouri Southern State University
4. Kentucky Wesleyan College
5. Southern Arkansas University
6. Lenoir-Rhyne University
7. Belmont Abbey College
8. Davis & Elkins College
9. Emporia State University
10. Angelo State University

Men's Tennis
1. Auburn University at Montgomery
2. Wayne State University
3. Florida Southern College
4. Metropolitan State University of Denver
5. Flagler College
6. Southern Arkansas University
7. Kentucky Wesleyan College
8. Lenoir-Rhyne University
9. Midwestern State University
10. Emporia State University