NCAA Division II Honors Conference Carolinas Gold Award Winners
INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA Division II national office announced on Monday the 45 Division II conference winners of the 50th Anniversary Gold Award.
This award, which is part of the division’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration that launched Aug. 7 and will extend through the 2024 Division II Baseball Championship in June, will recognize two individuals (one individual who identifies as male and one who identifies as female) who have made a positive impact in Division II.
The Conference Carolinas winners, who will be eligible for selection by the NCAA Division II Management Council Identity Subcommittee for the overall award to be recognized at the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix, are Dr. Brenda Cates of Mount Olive and Dan Kenney of UNC Pembroke.
With 41 years of service to the University of Mount Olive and two decades as the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR), Dr. Brenda Cates has shown undeniable dedication and service to student-athlete excellence. She is a math professor at UMO and currently serves on the NCAA Division II Legislation Committee and NCAA Division II Management Council.
Dr. Cates was the first-ever recipient of the FAR of the Year award for Division II in 2019 and was recognized for her service to the NCAA, Conference Carolinas and the University of Mount Olive. In 2021, she was named the Dr. Dave Pariser Faculty Mentor Award winner by the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). It recognizes faculty members at Division II schools for their dedication to supporting and mentoring student-athletes, as well as their commitment to Division II student-athletes' lifelong learning, competition and well-being. Dr. Cates also has the unique responsibility of serving as scorekeeper at men's and women's basketball home games. She has shown incredible loyalty to the University of Mount Olive and continues to strive to maximize the potential of all student-athletes.
Dan Kenney led the men's basketball program at UNC Pembroke to a 124-78 (.614) clip from 1985-92. The Braves posted a pair of 20-plus win seasons across the seven-year stretch, including a then-school record 27-5 clip during a magical 1990-91 season.
He took over the reins as athletics director for the Braves in 1998, a role he would serve for 14 seasons, and the Braves experienced a "Golden Era" of athletic competition under Kenney's watch - one that saw the addition of both football and women's golf to the varsity stable for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, respectively. UNCP's athletic teams qualified for the NCAA postseason on 21 occasions during Kenney's tenure, while being represented 50 times by individual qualifiers. He is a 2023 inductee to the UNCP Athletics Hall of Fame.
The nominees include current and former student-athletes, coaches, faculty members and administrators from active member schools and conferences who have helped shape Division II over time.
As part of the anniversary celebration, Division II also will provide a commemorative scholarship opportunity for student-athletes from active member schools who exhibit the core values of Division II and have not yet exhausted their athletics eligibility. Two recipients from each conference and two representing the independent institutions will be announced in May during the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships Festival in Orlando, Florida. Nomination procedures for the scholarship will be announced to the Division II membership in January.
To learn more about Division II’s 50th anniversary celebration, visit ncaa.org/dii50.