Special Olympics celebrated its 50th anniversary in July 2018. In honor of this occasion, DIII SAAC challenged all Division III institutions to have at least 50 student-athletes participate in one or more Special Olympics events between August 2018 and April 2019. The results are in and Division III SAAC could not be prouder of its student-athletes, institutions and conferences.
As of April 30, 2019, 53 institutions reported completing the 50 for 50th Special Olympics Challenge. Those institutions are:
- Allegheny College
- Beck College
- Bryn Athyn College
- Carthage College
- Case Western Reserve University
- Catholic University
- Concordia University Chicago
- Denison University
- DeSales University (DeSales)
- Eastern Nazarene College
- Elizabethtown College
- Emory University
- Fairleigh Dickinson University, Florham
- Geneva College
- Goucher College
- Gustavus Adolphus College
- Hamline University
- Haverford College
- Hollins University
- Illinois College
- Juniata College
- King's College (Pennsylvania)
- Lake Forest College
- Marietta College
- Marymount University (Virginia)
- Misericordia University
- Mitchell College
- Moravian College
- Oberlin College
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- Olivet College
- Penn State University Abington
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Shenandoah University
- Smith College
- Springfield College
- St. John's University (Minnesota)
- St. Norbert College
- State University of New York at Oswego
- Susquehanna University (Susquehanna)
- Thomas College
- University of Lynchburg
- University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
- University of the Ozarks (Arkansas)
- University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
- University of Wisconsin-Platteville
- Vassar College
- Waynesburg University
- Wells College
- Wesleyan University (Connecticut)
- Westminster College (Pennsylvania)
- Worcester State University
Each of these institutions will receive a token of appreciation from Division III SAAC. Additionally, DeSales, RPI and Susquehanna reported the highest percentage of participation by student-athletes and will face off during the May Spotlight Poll for the grand prize. Please visit the Division III Special Olympics website to vote for your favorite activity.