Minot State professor honored with Division II faculty award

The NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has selected Dean Frantsvog from Minot State as the recipient of the 2022 Dr. Dave Pariser Faculty Mentor Award.

Frantsvog, who died in August after a battle with cancer, will be honored posthumously at the NCAA Convention this month in San Antonio. He was a business law professor at Minot State for 18 years. He graduated from Minot State in 1997 with a degree in criminal justice and earned his juris doctorate in 2000 from Hamline. He was Minot State's faculty athletics representative and a steadfast advocate for Minot State athletics and student-athletes. Frantsvog was inducted into the Minot State Athletics Hall of Fame in October. 

"Dean was an absolute pillar at Minot State for the past two decades, educating thousands of students in the College of Business and providing terrific support to Beaver Athletics as our faculty athletics representative," said school President Steven Shirley, chair of the NCAA Division II Presidents Council.

The Dr. Dave Pariser Faculty Mentor Award is named after a Bellarmine physical therapy professor who died in 2013. It recognizes faculty members at Division II schools for their dedication to supporting and mentoring student-athletes, as well as their commitment to Division II student-athletes' lifelong learning, competition and well-being.

As Minot State's faculty athletics representative, Frantsvog also helped review and advise the athletics department on compliance and policy issues during the university's transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. He became the department's first FAR in 2010 and served until 2022. 

Minot State honored Frantsvog as a Professor of the Year in 2018. He also won a Faculty Achievement Award in 2012, the Young Alumni Achievement Award in 2011 and the Vision 2013 Merit Award.

In nominating Frantsvog for the faculty mentor award, Madeline Schorlemmer, associate athletic director of compliance, student life and academic success, said he was "the embodiment of the NCAA Division II core values." 

"His passion for student-athletes' success both in the classroom and their sport was evident throughout his entire career at Minot State," Schorlemmer said. "Dean believed in every single student-athlete who walked through the Minot State University doors. Dean's actions and voice mirrored the Division II story. He met our student-athletes where they were at and provided endless support in their academics, athletics and community engagement projects." 

Others who submitted comments in support of Frantsvog consistently cited his belief in and commitment to the Division II core values of providing a balanced experience for student-athletes. He was a tireless supporter of their success — in athletics competition, in the classroom and, importantly, in preparation for their success in life after college. Frantsvog, in fact, led the development of a state-of-the-art study space within the Minot State athletics facility reserved for student-athletes.

"Dean created a safe space for our student-athletes to study, have access to state-of-the-art technology and peer tutoring services, but most importantly, the Dean Frantsvog Academic Success Center provides a space for our student-athletes to be successful students and excel in the classroom," Schorlemmer said.