INDIANAPOLIS--UH Hilo student-athletes and their community service work landed them among the top Helper Helper schools in NCAA Division II, announced yesterday by the national office in their annual report.

Based on community service hours per student-athlete, the Vulcans ranked 39th among the 314 NCAA Division II universities across the nation. The Vulcans totaled 1,642 service hours before shelter-in-place measures slowed their efforts.

Two UH Hilo teams landed in the Top 10 of their respective sports. The Vulcan men's tennis team ranked fifth in the nation, and the UHH women's tennis team was ninth. Both teams averaged over 17 hours per student-athlete in the COVID-19 shortened school year and 140 hours total per team.

"I am very proud of what our student-athletes contribute to our community," said Vulcan athletic director Patrick Guillen. "The Big Island is very service oriented, and our coaches and teams work hard to reflect that giving spirit."

The Pacific West Conference had five schools in the nation's top 50, with Dominican listing at No. 19, Concordia (23), Academy of Art (27), UH Hilo (39) and Fresno Pacific (46).

Around the country and across all three NCAA divisions (I, II, III), 467,000 student-athletes contributed 251,551 hours of service to their communities. Their 9,677 events had an economic impact of $11.88 million dollars. 

To see the full Helper Helper report, click here. https://www.helperhelper.com/2019-2020-full-report/