(Sioux City, Iowa) – The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) is proud to announce those chosen as the 2023-24 nominees for the top honors in the NAIA, including the A.O. Duer Award, the Emil S. Liston Award, Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award and the NAIA Coach of Character Award.
“We are tremendously blessed to have this group of incredible nominees this year,” said GPAC Commissioner Corey Westra. ” Naming these nominees is one of most exciting things we do as a conference each year and I am confident that our nominees will do well at the national level. More importantly they are outstanding people who are doing amazing things for their institutions and respective teams.”
Two of the NAIA National Awards nominees come from Northwestern, and Dordt.
Coach of Character Award
The NAIA Coach of Character Award is an annual award given to a head coach of an NAIA institution who has been outstanding in embracing the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character initiative, using methods of teaching character through sport, and in community leadership through volunteering or service.
Nominee: Matt McCarty, Northwestern
Matt McCarty from Northwestern College is the GPAC nominee for the NAIA Coach of Character Award.
McCarty is the head football coach at Northwestern.
“As a Coach of Significance, one way I try to teach and instill character is through our small group activities,” said McCarty. “All of our small group activities center around the team of “Choose to Pursue Excellence Daily” – this is our team’s mission and guides all we do.”
“As the face of a nationally competitive football program, Coach McCarty embraces this unique opportunity by influencing others,” said Northwestern Vice President for Athletics Tony Hoops. “Matt is a foundational rock for our athletic department. All of us at Northwestern are fortunate to have (him) as a strong mentor to work with and are thankful that the highly visible sport of football has a leader that models the mission of our institution daily.”
The national winners will be announced during the 2024 NAIA Awards Day on September 15.
Emil S. Liston Award
The Liston Award is named in honor of the NAIA’s first executive secretary and the prime mover behind the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Tournament. The award has been presented annually since 1950 to one junior men’s and one junior women’s basketball student-athlete who has shown high athletic and scholastic achievement.
Male Nominee: Luke Rankin, Dordt University
The male nominee for the Emil S. Liston Award is Luke Rankin, a member of the Dordt University Men’s Basketball Team. Rankin, from Grimes, Iowa, is majoring in Business and Finance, with minors in Accounting and Economics.
His GPA is 3.982 and he is a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete. Rankin is the Dordt career leader in assists and has surpassed scoring 900 points in three seasons. Rankin was named the Freshman of the Year in the GPAC in 2021-22 and has been named All-Conference three times.
“Luke is an outstanding player and teammate, in my 28 years as a head college basketball coach, I have never coached anyone like Luke,” said Dordt Men’s Basketball Coach Brian Van Haaften. “He plays with great speed, passes the ball brilliantly and makes others around him better. He is a great teammate and the epitome of a team player.”
The national winners will be named during the NAIA National Awards Day in September. The NAIA winners will be recognized as part of the NAIA National Awards Luncheon at the NAIA National Convention next Spring in San Diego, California (April 3-7, 2025).
