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Houghton College is actively involved in the NAIA Champions of Character program, an initiative designed to instill an understanding of character values in sport and provide practical tools for student-athletes, coaches and parents to use in modeling exemplary character traits.

Launched by the NAIA in 2000, the Champions of Character program addresses character issues more comprehensively than any other national program for youth. The program currently reaches hundreds of thousands of students on nearly 300 college and university campuses in North America and extends into their surrounding communities.

The NAIA Champions of Character program is an educational outreach initiative which emphasizes the tenets of character and integrity, not only for NAIA college students, but for younger students, coaches and parents in our communities.

Coaches, parents, administrators and community partners all have a role in developing students of character. The NAIA Champions of Character program brings them training, guidelines and behavior models to create positive environments that promote personal growth and fun sport activity.

Houghton has been recognized as a Champions of Character Institution during each of the program’s five years and was selected as one of 13 charter schools to serve as a Program Center. These Centers focus on education of NAIA coaches and student-athletes and broad-based community outreach. They share the core values, messages and resources of the Champions of Character program with their local students, coaches, parents, and school and youth league administrators to promote meaningful change in the culture of sport in their local communities. Members of the civic and business community also participate in the Champions of Character Program Center activities.

Through Program Centers, speakers and presentations about the importance of character both on and off the playing field are available to local schools and organizations. Classes, workshops and summits like The Power of a Coach’s Words or Redefining the Term “Athlete” provide application models for coaches and parents to teach and model the five core values.

Campus leaders of character, NAIA student-athletes who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to the five core values, share the message of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship to youth of all ages through reading sessions and mentoring programs. Serving as role models for younger student-athletes, leaders of character demonstrate how making character-based decisions leads to success in sports and in life.

HOUGHTON’S INVOLVEMENT IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Houghton College has become actively involved in this initiative, providing educational programming to its own coaches and athletes and reaching further into the local communities through its summer camps and offering special on-campus speakers. Houghton’s efforts have not gone unnoticed by the NAIA, which has recognized Houghton as a Champions of Character Institution in each of the five years of the program.

• Created a Champions of Character award for local high school athletes who have demonstrated the core values of the program during the past year. The award presentation is made in front of local athletes at an assembly held on Houghton’s campus each April.

• In 2004 the department brought in former professional athlete Todd Blackledge to speak on “Being a Difference Maker.” More than 300 local high school athletes were in attendance.

• Stressed the Champions of Character core values during daily presentations at its basketball and volleyball camps. Each camp also includes an overview of the Champions of Character program and a look at the NAIA. Select volleyball campers receive t-shirts for their demonstration of the “core value of the day,” while the basketball campers signed a poster stating they wanted to be “champions of character.”

•  Established a new program in 2004-05 called the Champions of Character Kids’ Club. This initiative was implemented to encourage youth 13 and under to attend Houghton athletic contests, but also includes elements to teach the core values of the Champions of Character program. The Champions of Character logo appears on all promotional material for the program, including t-shirts given to all Kids’ Club members.

• Enlisted the support of the Houghton Alumni Association to create a Champions of Character scholarship for a current junior student-athlete.

• Created the first Athletes Leadership Council, a group of 12 student-athletes serve as an advisory group to the athletic department administration, provide feedback for the Champions of Character program, and serve as liaisons between their fellow athletes and the athletic department administration.

• Provided training for coaches and staff at national seminars hosted by the NAIA.

• Also, Houghton teams volunteer each year during Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Day, tackling work projects throughout Western New York in the spring.

• Other projects include the men’s and women’s soccer teams helping clean the Houghton Academy dorms before the fall semester and the men’s basketball team participating in a kids’ reading program at the King Charter School in Buffalo.

Read More About Houghton's Involvement in Character Initiatives

FILLMORE STUDENT RECEIVES CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER AWARD

Houghton Recognized as Character Institution

Local Student Receives Champions of Character Award

Alumni Association Awards Two Scholarships

Houghton Honors Two With Sportsmanship Awards

Lewis Receives Region Coach of Character Award

Athletic Department Announces Online Newsletter

Houghton, NAIA Tackle Character Issues in Sport

Houghton Named an Institution of Character

Houghton Introduces Kids' Club

Former NFL Quarterback Encourages Youth to Make a Difference

Athletes Get Down and Dirty to Serve