BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The Mid-South Conference has been named a Five-Star Champions of Character conference for the 2024-25 academic year, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics officials announced on Monday.

The MSC is one of 21 NAIA conferences to earn the distinction.

All seven Mid-South Conference full members earned Five-Star Champions of Character institution honors.

According to the NAIA, institutions are evaluated based on their demonstrated commitment to Champions of Character. Institutions earn points in areas such as character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition, and character promotion. They receive points for maintaining high student-athlete GPA averages and for having minimal to no ejections during competitions throughout the academic year.

Institutions are placed in one of three categories -- gold, silver, and bronze -- based on the points they earned during the season. Bethel (Tenn.), Cumberland (Tenn.), Cumberlands (Ky.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), and Georgetown (Ky.) earned gold honors, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) earned silver honors, and Campbellsville (Ky.) earned bronze honors.

Conferences are awarded the honor based on achieving three criteria:

• Established Champions of Character Conference Committee
• Conference has a conduct in competition oversight committee composed of a minimum of three members
• At least 60% of members institutions must receive the NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Institution Award