GovState Athletics - Athletic Director Tony Bates Named CCAC Conference AD of Year For 2025-26!

GovState Athletics - Athletic Director Tony Bates Named CCAC Conference AD of Year For 2025-26!  - 2nd Time in 4 Years Winning The Award For Coach Bates/Jaguars

GovState Associate Athletic Director Chandra Thompson commented on Tony and the Student-Athletes' successes in 2025-26.

"Tony Bates' 11th season led another strong year for GovState Athletics, capped by his selection as CCAC Athletic Director of the Year for 2025-26, his second such honor in four years. Academically, the Jaguars posted a solid 2025-26 year with a 3.13 department cumulative GPA, a 63% rate of student-athletes above 3.0, 93% in good academic standing, and 90% eligibility, while many teams also showed strong credit-hour completion and GPA performance across the year."

"GovState Athletics had a banner year across academics, competition, and facilities. On the academic side, student-athletes maintained a 3.13 department cumulative GPA with 93% in good academic standing and 90% eligibility, while multiple teams posted strong GPAs and credit-hour completion rates. In competition, women's cross country qualified for NAIA Nationals, women's volleyball earned the CCAC Newcomer of the Year, men's soccer made its seventh straight CCAC postseason appearance, men's basketball won the CCAC regular-season title and reached NAIA Nationals, women's basketball continued its strong conference run, men's golf and spring track earned top finishes, men's volleyball finished second in the CCAC in just its second season, and the first-year esports program qualified for the national tournament. Facilities growth also continued with the debut of the esports arena and the upcoming soccer complex, and GovState athletics is set to expand to 16 sports with women's softball beginning competition in 2026-27, " said Thompson.

Tony Bates - GovState Athletics - Highlights - 2025-26 -

Overall academic performance: The department (15 athletic teams and Esports coed team) -  posted a 3.20 term GPA (up 3% from Fall 2025) and a 3.15 cumulative GPA. Across all teams, 68% of student-athletes earned a GPA above 3.0, 89% remained in good academic standing, and 90% were academically eligible.

In the Fall sports the Jaguars, the women's cross country team qualified for the NAIA Nationals and had a team-school record second place finish in the CCAC Athletics Conference Meet.

Women's volleyball had the CCAC Newcomer of the Year and had three other All-CCAC performers in the season.

Men's soccer qualified for the 7th straight season for the CCAC post-season tournament and women's soccer was the Jaguars top academic team at GovState and had eight players named to the All-CCAC academic honor squads.

Bates' men's basketball team won the CCAC regular season championship and qualified for the NAIA Nationals for the second time (first was Championship season in 2017-18) . Bates earned CCAC Conference and Illinois NABC Coach of the Year awards in 2025-26. Four of his players earned Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year and named to All-CCAC first and second teams.

Women's basketball had its third straight top tier finish in the CCAC and reached the post-season semi-finals and had the Newcomer of the Year and two All-CCAC players in 2025-26.

Men's golf had a second team All-Conference player and Spring sports men's and women's outdoor track had top five team finishes and long distance runners conference champions and one national qualifier for the outdoor nationals.

Men's volleyball had its second straight solid season in year two of the program and had the CCAC Newcomer of the Year and three all conference players finishing second in the CCAC behind national runnerup and 7-time conference champion St. Xavier.

GovState's first-year coed Esports team qualified for the national tournament in a very successful first year of collegiate competition.

Facilities wise, the Esports Jaguar "Arena" and its 24-station facility made its debut in 2025-26. And the 3.2-million-dollar state of the art – Jaguars men's and women's soccer complex on campus will be opening for the 2026 Fall seasons.

GovState athletics grows to 16 sports in the 2026-27 season with women's softball beginning competition.