Coker Earns Third Straight NCAA Community Engagement Impact Award

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – For the third straight year, the Coker University Athletics Department has claimed the NCAA Community Engagement Impact Award, the NCAA announced Thursday. The award recognizes student-athletes' community engagement efforts on campus, in their collegiate cities and throughout the surrounding area.

Coker earned Division II honors after averaging 22 service hours per student-athlete with 100% participation. Cobra student-athletes volunteered at Darlington Raceway, assisted with athletics events at Coker and other local universities, and supported local youth recreational leagues.

"I am extremely proud of our student-athletes, coaches and administrators," Coker Deputy Athletics Director Aaron Beebe said. "Winning an award like this for the third straight year takes buy-in at all three levels. Serving our campus community has become the standard for our department and something we take pride in each year. We continue to raise that standard each year, and we finished the fall with over 12,000 community service hours, the most we have ever had. I also want to thank Helper Helper and the NCAA for giving us this platform to share and showcase the amazing work we are all doing in our communities. It's another great day to be a Cobra!"

The NCAA and Helper Helper conducted the NCAA Community Engagement Impact Challenge for the 11th year. The award celebrates student-athletes who volunteer their time and recognizes institutions for supporting those efforts. The initiative, which encourages outreach and service, ran from September through December and measured both average volunteer hours per student-athlete and overall participation rates.

"We are proud to celebrate and recognize each one of our member institutions' student-athletes and their administration for their commitment to community," said Stephannie Harvey-Vandenberg, NCAA managing director of external engagement strategic projects and special programs. "These student-athletes exemplify the highest ideals and values of college athletics through their unwavering commitment to service, where each one showcases their dedication to strengthening communities, advancing meaningful causes and contributing to lasting positive change that reflects a profound sense of responsibility and leadership."

This year, student-athletes across Divisions I, II and III contributed a combined 257,299 hours of community service — an increase of approximately 47,000 hours from last year's competition. Division I student-athletes logged 132,341 hours, Division II totaled 91,333 hours, and Division III added 33,625 hours. According to Independent Sector research on the national value of volunteer time, those efforts generated an estimated $8.9 million in economic impact.

Coastal Carolina University claimed the Division I honor, while SUNY Oneonta earned Division III recognition.