NEW ORLEANS -- The USTFCCCA named the Grand Valley State men as the NCAA Division II Program of the Year for the 2022-23 academic year. The Lakers claimed their fourth consecutive honor.

The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution’s finish at the NCAA Championships.

In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team’s finish at each NCAA Championship in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner.

Grand Valley State reached the podium in all three sports to capture the Damon Martin Men’s Program of the Year award with five POY points. The Lakers had a third-place finish indoors sandwiched between fourth-places in cross country and outdoor. This is GVSU’s fourth-straight honor after winning last year and in 2018 and 2019 (no award was given in 2020 and 2021).

The Grand Valley State women – last year’s winner – finished in second place. The Lakers were one of two programs to accumulate three top-10 finishes, earning second in cross country, sixth indoors and fifth outdoors. GVSU has been first or second in the women’s POY standings every year since 2009.