Lock Haven announces NCAA Division II 50th anniversary Gold Award nominees
LOCK HAVEN, PA – The Lock Haven Department of Athletics has announced its nominees for the NCAA Division II 50th anniversary Gold Award, and the Bald Eagles are represented by Hall of Famers Sharon Taylor and Tom Justice.
The Gold Award recognizes two individuals (one who identifies as male and one who identifies as female) who have made a positive impact in Division II – whether it be a current or former student-athlete, coach, faculty member or administrator from an active member school or conference who has distinguished themselves in the areas of athletics, professional achievement, service and leadership, and who have helped shape Division II over time.
In August, Division II kicked off a campaign to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The division was founded Aug. 6, 1973, when NCAA members voted to reorganize into three divisions at a special convention. When the split occurred, 193 schools in 13 conferences chose to become founding Division II members.
Taylor and Justice are two of 38 total nominees from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
The PSAC’s total of 38 nominations is most among all 23 Division II conferences, which collectively put forth 231 nominees for consideration. The PSAC’s athletic directors, senior woman administrators, and sports information directors will now hold a vote to determine which two nominees will be selected as the conference’s representatives in the national vote. The results of the PSAC’s vote will be announced by November 6, 2023.
Taylor and Justice were elected to the Lock Haven Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Taylor ’66 was a multi-sport student-athlete and multi-sport coach at Lock Haven. She played field hockey and basketball, before coaching tennis, basketball, lacrosse and field hockey. Taylor is a former member of the United States Olympic Committee and past president of USA Field Hockey. As a coach at Lock Haven, Taylor won seven national championships, including one in lacrosse and six in field hockey. The national title in lacrosse is the school’s only in the sport after the Bald Eagles won the AIAW DII title in 1979. The sport of field hockey is where she left her biggest mark at The Haven, as her Lock Haven teams went 333-96-27 and her 340 total collegiate career field hockey wins still rank No. 30 all-time in NCAA history. Taylor-led Lock Haven field hockey teams won national titles in 1981, ’82, ’89, ’92, ’94 and ’95 (*Division II Field Hockey Championships in 1982, 1992, 1994 and 1995).
Justice coached a number of sports at Lock Haven, but he built the women’s volleyball program from the beginning and turned it into a regional Division II power. On the volleyball court, Justice led the Bald Eagles to six PSAC Tournament titles, seven NCAA Division II Atlantic Region titles, 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and seven NCAA Elite Eight trips. He coached 14 All-Americans, 11 PSAC Athletes of the Year, seven PSAC Freshman of the Year award winners, 49 All-Region players, and 60 All-Conference players, while winning nearly 500 matches.
