SUNY Delhi’s Bywater named 2023 NAC Man of the Year
WATERVILLE, Maine – SUNY Delhi’s
Seth Bywater has been selected as the 2023 North Atlantic Conference Man of the Year, selected from among seven nominees from the NAC’s 12 member institutions.
Bywater was selected in voting conducted among the NAC’s athletics directors and senior woman administrators. He is the first SUNY Delhi student-athlete to be selected for the NAC’s most prestigious student-athlete award.
Bywater was a three-year member of the SUNY Delhi cross country and track & field teams, helping lead the Broncos to the 2022 NAC men’s track & field championship and the 2022 NAC men’s cross country title. He earned All-NAC honors in cross country in both 2021 and 2022, and was an All-NAC honoree in both the 1500m and the 5000m at the 2022 NAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
A cross country All-America honoree for SUNY Delhi in 2019 when the Broncos competed in the USCAA, Bywater was an NCAA qualifier in 2021, becoming the first SUNY Delhi student-athlete to compete in an NCAA championship event.
Bywater was active in SUNY Delhi’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during all four academic years he competed for the Broncos, serving as SAAC president from 2020 to 2022. He participated in several SUNY Delhi SAAC initiatives including a conference on volunteerism and social responsibility (2021), community clean-up days (2019, 2021, 2022), and a One Love exhibit (2021).
A December 2022 graduate of SUNY Delhi, Bywater graduated with a degree in mechatronics technology in only seven semesters with a 3.96 cumulative grade points average. He is currently working at Cornell University as a research support specialist at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), which is a high-intensity, high-energy X-ray light source used in multidisciplinary research under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The
NAC Man of the Year and Woman of the Year awards are modeled after the
NCAA Woman of the Year program which honors graduating student-athletes who distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service, and leadership. The NAC Man of the Year and Woman of the Year award are the two preeminent awards presented annually by the conference.
Member schools nominate student-athletes from their own institution, then NAC Athletic Directors and Senior Woman Administrators vote to select the
Woman of the Year. Scoring for the academic achievement section is based on the undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of the nominee. Scoring for athletic excellence is based on the nominee's honors and accomplishments including awards and championships, and scoring for service and leadership is based on their involvement in campus and community activities and organizations over the course of their collegiate career. Administrators also consider a short personal statement written by each nominee.
ANNUAL NAC MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD RECIPIENTS
2023 – Seth Bywater, SUNY Delhi
2022 – Zach Falkenburg, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon
2021 – Andrew Fitch, SUNY Canton
2020 – Nathan Granholm, Maine Maritime Academy
2019 – Josh Yelvington, SUNY Canton
2018 – Curtis Warren, Colby-Sawyer College
2017 – Sean Cabaniss, UMaine-Farmington
2016 – Christopher Gilman, Maine Maritime Academy
2015 – Nicholas Betti, Maine Maritime Academy
2014 – Matt McNamee, Castleton State University
2013 – Josh Grant, Lyndon State College
2012 – Craig Johnson, Lyndon State College