Kansas City, Mo. - The Cougar men's basketball team received the NAIA Champions of Character Award at last night's banquet for the 2014 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. This is the first time that any team at Columbia has received the honor.

The Cougars clinched their third consecutive American Midwest Conference (AMC) tournament championship last week and have enjoyed an extremely high level of success on the court in recent years, but have also excelled in the classroom and in the community during that time. Head Coach Bob Burchard and his players have taken part in a number of servant leadership opportunities in the past year, volunteering at the Central Missouri Food Bank and participating in the Boys & Girls Club Fall Fest. The group also partnered with the Columbia volleyball team to run a camp for Special Olympics athletes in addition to their work with Special Olympics basketball teams.

The Cougars took part in the Voluntary Action Center Christmas Gift Program and organized a free youth basketball clinic on the base at Fort Leonard Wood. Junior guard Tanner Sutton was recently named to the 2014 Allstate NABC Good Works Team, which honors commitment to serving others. Sutton was one of 10 collegiate players nationally to receive the award and was the only male representative of the NAIA among the recipients.

"Character is vital to any meaningful human relationship," said Burchard. "For a relationship to have meaning, you must have trust. When you recognize quality characteristics in an individual, trust follows easily. Our team has been able to trust each other in the most adverse and challenging situations. Our players and coaches sincerely care about each other's well-being, not only on the court, but off. Knowing that the guy next to you and the guy next to him are trustworthy and care makes it easy to compete and perform at a high level."

Burchard and the 4^th-ranked Cougars will face off against Belhaven (Miss.) University on Thursday, March 20^th in the first round of the Division I Men's Basketball National Championships. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 pm at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.