ATLANTA — App State Athletics was awarded the 2025-26 SAAC Community Impact Award for the second consecutive academic year, the Sun Belt Conference announced Tuesday at its annual honors banquet.
The award recognizes the athletic program and student-athletes that demonstrate a commitment to civic engagement and service within the local community, honoring those who go beyond competition to drive meaningful outreach initiatives and foster positive, lasting partnerships off the field.
Over the course of the 2025-26 academic year, Mountaineer student-athletes logged 2,062 community service hours. The efforts were highlighted by the women's basketball program's work with "A Bed and a Book," an initiative that provides local families in need with beds and books.
Women's track and field/cross country logged the most service hours among all programs with nearly 576, followed by the men's team with nearly 366 hours. Wrestling, cheer, soccer and softball each recorded more than 100 community service hours during the 2025-26 academic year.
Along with the SAAC Community Impact Award, App State also earned the Student-Athlete Graduation Success Rate Award, which recognizes Sun Belt member institutions that earned a single-year graduation success rate at or above 90 percent for student-athletes, as published in the NCAA Division I Graduation Success Rate report.
