Fullerton, CA - The GSAC was named a Champions of Character Five Star conference with the Royals being one of the three conference schools to receive perfect scores as announced by the NAIA on Wednesday afternoon.

The Golden State Athletic Conference had a very successful season in and out of competition last year.  The 2022-23 season saw 50 percent of the conference achieve GOLD level status in the NAIA's Champions of Character program. The GSAC has always strived for its membership and their student-athletes to compete with the highest of character no matter the situation.  The GSAC received the Champions of Character Five-Star Conference award for the 12th consecutive year.

Arizona Christian University, Jessup University and Hope International University all received perfect scores (100 points) on their 2022-23 scorecards.

Every year, each NAIA institution and conferences demonstrate their progress in pursuing character-driven athletics. The Champions of Character Scorecard measures growth in training, promotion, conduct in competition and commitment in five key areas with a possibility of 100 points. Institutions can be recognized as Champions of Character Five-Star Institutions at three different levels: Gold (90-100 points), Silver (75-89 points) and Bronze (60-74 points). Conferences earn the Five-Star Conference Award based in part on at least 50% of their schools being named Five-Star Institution Award winners. The conference must also have a Champions of Character Committee and a Conduct in Competition Oversight Committee.

The conference had seven different institutions that competed during the 2022-23 season that achieved either gold or bronze level status. The GSAC saw five of those seven schools achieve gold (ACU, Hope International, Jessup, OUAZ, and Vanguard) and The Master's University achieved silver while Menlo College achieved bronze.

This year, 171 NAIA institutions earned the Five-Star Institution Award.  The mission of the Champions of Character program is to help student-athletes and their coaches embody five core values: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership.