Middlebury College Named 2012 National Sportsmanship Day "Model Sportsmanship School"

KINGSTON, R.I., Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Institute for International Sport, administrator of National Sportsmanship Day, has selected Middlebury College as the inaugural 2012 National Sportsmanship Day "Model Sportsmanship School."  National Sportsmanship Day, in its 21st year, will be celebrated on March 6, 2012. 

On an annual basis, the Institute will select a high school, college or university as its National Sportsmanship Day "Model Sportsmanship School."  The honored school will have demonstrated, over a period of time, the following qualities:

• A strong culture of sportsmanship
• The willingness to work on a specific area of improvement related to sportsmanship

In the case of Middlebury College, the focus will be on crowd behavior at men's basketball games.  Following National Sportsmanship Day, Middlebury College and the Institute for International Sport will produce a report on its joint efforts to improve crowd behavior at men's basketball games.  The report will be published in the spring and shared with schools at all levels throughout the United States.

Erin Quinn, Director of Athletics at Middlebury College, commented:

We at Middlebury College are thrilled and honored to be selected by the Institute for International Sport as a National Sportsmanship Day "Model Sportsmanship School."  While we are proud of the sportsmanship our athletes display in their respective areas of play, we are committed to improvement, and in particular improving the culture of our spectators.  This is a great opportunity to encourage those efforts, and we are currently engaging our student-athletes to achieve this end.  We look forward to working with the Institute for International Sport as we engage these issues.

Paz Magat, Director of National Sportsmanship Day, noted:

We decided to implement this program so that a school that has demonstrated strong sportsmanship will focus on a specific goal and share the results with other schools.  We selected Middlebury College for its great commitment to sportsmanship and its willingness to work with us on this project.  Crowd behavior has proven to be one of the most problematic areas in sports.  What Middlebury is doing is admirable and will provide important feedback that other schools can use.

To learn more about National Sportsmanship Day, visit the Institute for International Sport website at www.internationalsport.org.

SOURCE Institute for International Sport