INDIANAPOLIS | Former Georgia College & State University student-athletes Shanteona Keys and Simon Earnshaw were named  GCSU's nominees for the 50th Anniversary Gold Award.

Keys and Earnshaw were two of the 231 nominations submitted from Division II schools for the 50th Anniversary Gold Award.

This award, which is part of the division's yearlong 50th anniversary celebration that launched Aug. 7 and will extend through the 2024 Division II Baseball Championship in June, will recognize two individuals (one individual who identifies as male and one who identifies as female) who have made a positive impact in Division II.

The nominees include current and former student-athletes, coaches, faculty members and administrators from active member schools and conferences who have helped shape Division II over time.

"The nominees reflect the considerable impact so many individuals have had on intercollegiate athletics over the years but also the pride the Division II membership demonstrates consistently in providing the experiences that enable young people to make a positive difference in the world," said Terri Steeb Gronau, vice president of Division II.

Conference offices will review the nominated individuals and select two conference winners (one individual who identifies as male and one who identifies as female) by Nov. 6. The NCAA Division II Management Council Identity Subcommittee will review the finalists and select the two overall winners, who will be recognized at the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix.

"The quality of nominees will certainly make it challenging for the Division II Identity Subcommittee to recommend just two Gold Award recipients," Steeb Gronau said. "It truly is eye-opening to read through the candidates' accomplishments and realize how their contributions have made us better as a division."

As part of the anniversary celebration, Division II also will provide a commemorative scholarship opportunity for student-athletes from active member schools who exhibit the core values of Division II and have not yet exhausted their athletics eligibility. Two recipients from each conference and two representing the independent institutions will be announced in May during the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships Festival in Orlando, Florida. Nomination procedures for the scholarship will be announced to the Division II membership in January. To learn more about Division II's 50th anniversary celebration, visit ncaa.org/dii50.

Shanteona Keys
Keys, who is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (first D2 athlete to be named to it), was a national leader on and off the basketball court when she attended Georgia College (2011-15). The class valedictorian in 2015 also finished her basketball career as the school's all-time leading scorer (1,822). She was the 2015 Peach Belt Scholar Athlete of the Year and was a two-time CoSIDA (now College Sports Communicators) Academic All-America selection . A team captain all four years, Keys earned All-Peach Belt Conference honors each year and was a Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America Honorable Mention her senior year. She served as the Peach Belt Conference representative on the NCAA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for four years.

Keys earned her bachelor's degree in mass communication. Prior to working at Growing Leaders, she was a graphic and marketing assistant for Score Atlanta and served as an area representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She also worked as an assistant women's basketball coach at Georgia College after her graduation and continues to mentor young women as the head girls basketball coach at Cambridge High School.

Simon Earnshaw
Earnshaw played men's tennis for four seasons (1991-92 to 1994-95) at Georgia College and helped them to top 10 national rankings each year.  He earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1996 and master's in physical education from GC in 1998.

After GC, he became head tennis coach at Armstrong State University for 15 years where he guided both teams to a 747-118 record, including a 411-35 mark for women. His programs reached 12 NCAA Division II finals, 16 Final Fours, 21 NCAA quarterfinals, produced 35 ITA All-Americans, 30 ITA Scholar-Athletes, and 15 ITA All-Academic teams. His women's programs captured six of the nine NCAA Division II crowns between 2005-13, while his men's team won three times during that stretch. Additionally, his squads swept both the men's and women's team titles on three occasions - 2008, 2009 and 2012.

Currently, he's the head women's tennis coach at NC State University (since 2014) and has a 150-76 record. He led the Wolfpack to the semifinals of the 2021 NCAA Division I Tournament. The 2019 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Tennis Coach of the Year, Earnshaw has led NC State to six straight NCAA Championships bids, the longest streak in school history. NC State won a record 26 matches, reached the ITA National Team Indoor Championship semifinals, and advanced to the quarterfinals of NCAA Tournament in 2022. For his career, he has a 897-194 record (.822 winning percentage).

About GCSU Athletics
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II in back-to-back academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won three straight Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence and is a two-time winner of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and a three-time winner of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.