CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced today that The University of Toledo has received the Cartwright Award as the top overall MAC school for the 2023-24 school year. 

The Cartwright Award is an institutional award presented annually to one university in the MAC.  A committee with representation from all 12 institutions selected the Cartwright Award winner from nominations submitted based upon the criteria of excellence in academics, athletics, and citizenship.   
 
It is the third consecutive season and fourth time overall that Toledo has won the Cartwright Award. Toledo now holds the conference record for the most Cartwright Awards and is the first school to win the award in three consecutive seasons.
 
"The Cartwright Award celebrates overall excellence by a member institution athletics department," said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference Commissioner. "This award allows us to acknowledge a peer's outstanding achievements in academics, athletic success, and civic engagement. I extend my congratulations to the University of Toledo, its student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and the entire institution for earning this distinguished recognition for the third consecutive season."
  
"Rocket Athletics is a powerful example of what success looks like at The University of Toledo. We could not be prouder of how our student-athletes represent UToledo on the field, in the classroom and in our community," UToledo Interim President Matt Schroeder said. "It is important to recognize all of Team Toledo in this historic achievement. Congratulations to all of our coaches, staff, athletes and our community."
 
The Cartwright Award is named in honor of Dr. Carol A. Cartwright, one of the most highly respected voices in higher education. Dr. Cartwright served as the president of Kent State University from 1991-2006 and president of Bowling Green from 2008-2011.  Dr. Cartwright previously was the vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of California at Davis and dean for undergraduate programs and vice provost at Pennsylvania State University.  She has served on the NCAA Board of Directors and is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. The Cartwright Award will be presented to Toledo at a football game later this fall. 

"The honor of being selected by your peers as the best athletic program in the Mid-American Conference is an amazing achievement for our University – student-athletes, coaches, faculty and staff, and the community that empowers our dreams," said Toledo Vice President and Director of Athletics Bryan B. Blair. "Winning this award for an unprecedented third consecutive year is further validation of our commitment to excellence and serves as a tremendous foundation while we aspire to even greater heights.

"I've often said this is the golden age of Toledo Athletics as we've seen record success in academics, athletics and citizenship. While we celebrate this success, we also acknowledge that we have only scratched the surface of our collective potential. With that in mind, now is the time to double down on our collective efforts to ensure the coming years and decades shine even brighter. I'm excited to do that, together!"
 
"To win the Cartwright Award in three consecutive years is an amazing accomplishment for our student-athletes, our coaches and our entire athletic department," said Kim Nigem, a professor in the John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation who also serves as the University's Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR). "All of Rocket Nation should be very proud of the achievements of our student-athletes in the classroom, in our community and in their sports."
 
The following is a summary of some the accomplishments by the University of Toledo in each of the three areas of academic, athletic and citizenship excellence: 

Academic Highlights 

• The department's fall semester GPA for student-athletes was 3.423, the highest ever for a fall semester, followed by a 3.388 GPA last spring.
• 128 student-athletes earned Academic All-MAC honors from the 2023-24 academic school year, with 44 earning CSC Academic All-District honors.
• The Graduation Success Rate for Toledo student-athletes is 93%. Four teams scored a perfect 100 GSR scores last year: Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Women's Tennis and Women's Volleyball. Football recorded a 94% GSR, which is the highest total in school history and No. 1 in the MAC.
• Judge Culpepper was named to the College Sports Communicators' Academic (CSC) All-America football first-team while teammate Maxen Hook made the second team. Culpepper is Toledo's first first-team selection since 2012.
• Madison Giglio and Lauren Kilgore were named to the CSC Academic All-America® Women's Swimming & Diving Team.

Citizenship 

• Rocket student-athletes volunteered for a record 4,800 hours of community service for a total economic impact of nearly $150,000.
• The Athletic Department hosted and participated in numerous civic engagement activities, including mental health, voter education, diversity, equity & inclusion and career networking. 
• Toledo Athletics partnered with Helper Helper platform for the first time to encourage and appropriately track our community service efforts. The Rockets finished in the top 25 DI programs for service efforts via tracked programs through Helper Helper. Total hours served is a 200% increase over the 2022-23 school year.
• More than 100 student-athletes, coaches and staff from the UToledo Athletic Department volunteered their services during Toledo's Community 419 Day, removing over 3,000 pounds of litter from city parks.
• Women's Tennis was awarded the 2024 ITA Midwest Regional Community Service Award for the first time. It is also the first time a MAC school has won the award.

Athletic Highlights 

• The Rockets were MAC Champions in five sports: 
  • Women's Cross Country  
  • Men's Basketball (regular season)  
  • Women's Basketball (regular season)  
  • Women's Tennis
  • Men's Tennis  
• Toledo claimed both the Reese and Jacoby trophies in 2023-24 as the top men's and women's programs in the Mid-American Conference. It was the third consecutive Reese trophy for the UT men and third Jacoby trophy overall for the women. It was also the first time in school history that Toledo won both awards in the same year.
• Toledo also won six MAC Coach of the Year awards and five Rocket student-athletes were named MAC Player of the Year in their sports.
• Toledo has won 76 conference games in the sports of football, men's basketball, and women's basketball over the past two seasons, more than any FBS school in the country.
• The Rockets led the MAC in attendance in Football and Women's Basketball, and had sellouts in in men's and women's basketball for the first time in the same season.
• Women's Cross Country won the MAC Championship for the third-straight season.
• Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough was named MAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season.
• Dennis Mutai won the Men's Cross Country MAC Championship race with a course record 23:57.19, becoming the first individual champion in program history.
• Associate Head Coach Tito Medrano was named MAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year, the first of his career and a first for UT.
• Football won 11 consecutive games, won the 2023 MAC West Division title, advanced to the MAC Championship Game for the second straight year and played in the Barstool Arizona Bowl.
• Football went 8-0 in the MAC for the first time in school history.
• Football was ranked as high as No. 23 in the nation by the Associated Press in 2023.
• Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell became the first Rocket ever to be named to all five major All-America teams, and became the first Rocket in 31 years to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
• Quarterback Dequan Finn was named the MAC's MVP, running back Peny Boone was the league's Offensive Player of the Year, and Jason Candle was named MAC Coach of the Year.
• The Rockets led the MAC in attendance in Football and Women's Basketball in 2023-24, and were second in Men's Basketball.
• Men's Basketball won the 2023-24 MAC regular season championship, becoming the first current MAC school to win four consecutive regular season titles.
• Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk was a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award for the fourth consecutive season.
• Women's Basketball won the MAC Championship regular season for the third year in a row and advanced to the third round of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament.
• Women's Basketball defeated Michigan for the second straight season before a sellout crowd of 7,082 at Savage Arena.
• Sophia Wiard was named 2023-24 MAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year and Tricia Cullop was named MAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year.
• Men's Tennis won the MAC Tournament Championship crown and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
• Men's Tennis player Pawit Sornlaksup was named Mid-American Conference Player of the Year for the third-straight season, was named the MVP of the MAC Tournament for the second time and became the first Rocket to earn an individual berth into the NCAA Championships.
• Al Wermer was named MAC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
• Women's Tennis clinched its second MAC Championship title and earned its first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships by winning the program's first MAC Tournament title.
• Cassie Alcala was named Mid-American Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year for the third-straight season.
• Tracy Mauntler was named MAC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Mauntler was also named the Midwest Region's Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year, becoming the first coach from a Mid-American Conference school to earn this regional recognition, as well as the first coach from a mid-major school to earn this award since 2014.
• Barend Botha captured first place at the MAC Men's Golf MAC Championships, becoming the first MAC men's golfer to repeat as champion in 34 years. He earned first-team All-MAC honors for the fourth straight year and qualified as an individual for the NCAA Regionals.

 
Cartwright Award Winners 
2023-24                University of Toledo 
2022-23                University of Toledo 
2021-22                University of Toledo 
2020-21                Miami University 
2019-20                N/A (COVID-19) 
2018-19                Miami University 
2017-18                Miami University 
2016-17                Eastern Michigan University 
2015-16                Kent State University 
2014-15                Central Michigan University 
2013-14                Eastern Michigan University 
2012-13                Kent State University 
2011-12                University of Toledo 
2010-11                Western Michigan University 
2009-10                Kent State University 
2008-09                Central Michigan University