The stars were out on Sunday night inside of Upper Convo as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee presented the inaugural Ashpy award show. 

It was a fun filled night that recognized the many accomplishments that Ashland University athletics have had this season. Many schools across the country have started to do award shows, such as this, to recognize athletes on campus.

One of the goals of S.A.A.C. is to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and this year AU set a goal of $5,000 and they surpassed that this year. The Ashpy award show contributed to this goal by asking every attendee donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Zach Bernhard and Hannah Mattar, the President and Vice President of S.A.A.C., acted as the Masters of Ceremonies and Athletic Director, Al King, kicked the evening off with a speech.

Many athletes and coaches were recognized for their hard work and dedication to Eagle Nation. The award show looked back upon some of the greatest games and performances of the year.

Senior Joe Brandt’s third place finish at the NCAA national wrestling tournament earned him the best come-from-behind performance of the year as well as the Male athlete of the year honor.

Sophomore Andi Daugherty took home the honor of Female Athlete of the year and her last second shot to beat Ursuline in the Regional tournament was recognized as one of the best plays of the year.

Track and Field head coach, Jud Logan, was named the coach of the year and sent the audience into a frenzy when he sprinted onto the stage after his name was called.

The most memorable part of the night was when head women’s soccer coach, Danny Krispinsky, was honored with the Perseverance/Courage Award. Krispinsky has been battling cancer this past year while coaching his team and when his name was called for this award the audience rose to their feet and gave Krispinsky a much deserved standing ovation.

It was an unforgettable year in Ashland Athletics and it all came together in a memorable night.

“This was our vision from the beginning,” said Zach Bernhard, “We wanted it to be big, we wanted it to be formal, and we wanted it to be something special for everyone to enjoy.” 

S.A.A.C. has some major plans for what they hope to do with this event in the future. One of their main goals is that they want to raise even more money for Make-A-Wish as well as get even more involved in the community.

“We want to get parents here,” said Zach Bernhard “We want to spread it, we want the community here because they come to games and support us and there’s no reason they can’t be a part of this too because they are part of Eagle Nation too.”

Most other schools have their athletic department choose the winners of the awards, but AU chose to take a different approach.

“It was a little different than what other schools were doing,” said Rachel O’Conner, Director of Sports Marketing and Promotions, “[other schools] just picked the winners, but we let Eagle Nation choose, which is the coolest thing.”

Raising money for Make a Wish was not the only goal for the committee. The group wanted to get more involved throughout the community and the university.

“This year is by far the most involved S.A.A.C has been,” said Athletic Director Al King, “This is not the end, this is the start.”