Fitchburg State Athletes Honored With First Annual MASCAC Sportsmanship Award

Falcons women's lacrosse team and senior Phil McCormack awarded for extra effort

FITCHBURG, Mass. (June 10, 2009) - The Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team and senior cross-country athlete Phil McCormack (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) were honored this past week, collecting the MASCAC's first annual Sportsmanship Award, as selected by the Conference office.

This unique award honors an individual or team who has distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior on and off the field. Each nominee must have demonstrated consistent values of caring, fairness, civility, honesty, integrity and responsibility in their daily participation of intercollegiate athletics. In addition to sportsmanship, all-nominees must also demonstrate good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting and must be in good academic standing.

This year, Fitchburg State had two deserving nominees as its women's lacrosse team and Phil McCormack collected the league's inaugural honor. McCormack, a four-year member of the cross country team and track team at Fitchburg State, consistently demonstrated a commitment to sportsmanship throughout the 2008-09 season.The standout senior exemplified his commitment during the MASCAC Championships where, after placing fourth in the meet, McCormack stayed at the finish line and congratulated teammates and competitors alike as they finished the race. Rather than being an exception, this is the rule for McCormack, as he engaged in this activity after most cross-country meets throughout his Fitchburg State career.

McCormack continues to make an impact in other people's lives through his passion for and commitment to education. A recent graduate in the criminal justice field, McCormack intends to pursue a Master Degree and a Doctorate in criminal justice with the ultimate goal of teaching at the collegiate level. 

The second recipient of the prestigious MASCAC Sportsmanship Award was the Falcons women's lacrosse team. This season, Fitchburg State set the standard for other teams both on the Fitchburg State campus and within the MASCAC as the Falcons lacrosse team served as mentors to Molly McGaffigan, a high school lacrosse player who survived a recent battle with ovarian cancer. The team's efforts to promote awareness of ovarian cancer extended on the field and beyond as members of the team wore teal colored ribbons in honor of Molly. After completion of the 2009 season, the Lady Falcons traveled to Nashua, N.H., where they provided an enthusiastic cheering section for Molly during one of her home lacrosse contests.

The lacrosse team's generosity also extended to other volunteer activities throughout the Fitchburg State campus. Several members of the team served as MASCAC Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representatives and provided leadership for other Fitchburg State volunteer activities. As a team, the Falcons made a positive difference in the lives of people both in the Fitchburg community and the community at large.

For more information regarding the MASCAC Sportsmanship Award and Fitchburg State athletics, please contact Sports Information Director, Keith Brouillard at 978-665-3343 or via email at kbrouil3@fsc.edu.