Athletic Mission Statement

Raven Athletics Mission Statement

The Benedictine College Intercollegiate Athletic Department affirms a holistic approach to education formalized in goals that are intended to promote intellectual, social, physical, and spiritual growth of student-athletes.

The athletic arena provides an extended education for the student-athlete. Participation in intercollegiate sports provides a learning laboratory for each student-athlete. Benedictine College offers a balanced sponsorship of sports for men and women. The athletic program for men includes baseball, basketball, cross country, football, lacrosse, soccer, track & field, and wrestling. The intercollegiate sports for women are basketball, cross country, dance, lacrosse, soccer, softball, spirit squad (cheer), track & field, and volleyball.

Benedictine Athletics is committed to becoming a national leader in setting the highest standards for academic success, athletic competition, ethical behavior, fiscal responsibility, and spiritual development.

Department Outcomes

Goal 1 – Academic Excellence – Benedictine College Athletics has a proud heritage of serving young people who aspire to succeed at the highest level, not only through athletic performance, but in the classroom as well. Benedictine College owns a well-established reputation as an institution that delivers on its commitment to the educational well-being of its students. Our student-athletes will excel in the classroom.

Goal 2 – Athletic Excellence – Benedictine College Athletics is committed to building a great intercollegiate athletics program encompassing all of our 19 sports. The recent results of the department teams are a credit to the hard work displayed by our student-athletes, coaches, and athletics support staff. Strategies currently in place to achieve this goal include providing our student-athletes with the most talented and experienced coaching staff for their respective sports, scheduling challenging team competition, and upgrading sports facilities, training rooms, equipment, and team apparel.

Goal 3 – Development of Champions of Character – Benedictine College Athletics is a proud member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Champions of Character program initiated by the NAIA is designed to instill an understanding of character values in sport and provide practical tools for student-athletes, coaches, and parents to use in modeling exemplary character traits. Launched by the NAIA in 2000, the Champions of Character program addresses character issues more comprehensively than any other national program. The NAIA Champions of Character program has established five core values that go well beyond the playing field and into the daily decisions of our student-athletes. These character values help young people – and those associated with their development – make good choices in all aspects of their life and reflect the true spirit of competition. Benedictine Athletics strongly supports the efforts of the Champions of Character program in the development of our student-athletes.

Goal 4 – Fiscal Responsibility – Benedictine College Athletics must continue to face the ever-changing and challenging landscape of revenues needed to support the efforts of our programs. It is our goal to provide a fiscally stable and supportive environment for all our teams to ensure our student-athletes can compete at the highest level. It is Benedictine Athletics responsibility to continue to make sound fiscal decisions and to operate within our revenues. Therefore, both revenue enhancement opportunities and cost-containment measures must be a constant priority.

Goal 5 – Spiritual Formation – Benedictine College Athletics, as an institution of higher education founded in Catholic and Benedictine teaching, will assist student-athletes in more fully becoming the men and women that God has created them to be. By meeting student-athletes where they are on their faith journey, Benedictine Athletics will assist, support, and challenge student-athletes in becoming their best selves. Benedictine Athletics will make Christ-centered decisions, make prayer part of daily athletic activities, and look for opportunities to serve others on campus, in the community, and throughout the world.