KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association hosted its annual Awards Celebration Ceremony presented by Seigfreid Bingham on Monday, June 1, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum  Auditorium in Kansas City. The Association presented numerous awards, inducted the MIAA Hall of Fame Class of 2026, and crowned the 2025-26 Ken B. Jones Award winners for the Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year.  
 
MIAA administrators, alumni, coaches, student-athletes and supporters filled Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum Auditorium on Monday evening for the 2026 MIAA Awards Celebration Ceremony. Local Kansas City sportswriter Blair Kerkhoff was once again the event’s emcee. MIAA friends and family who could not attend can watch the event for free on TheMIAANetwork.com/MIAA.
 
The first award presented of the night was the 2025-26 MIAA SAAC Cup, which was awarded to the Missouri Western State University for the second consecutive season. Griffon student-athlete Bethani Grove joined MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy on stage to accept the 2025-26 SAAC Cup on behalf of the MWSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). To learn more about the Griffons’ journey to their back-to-back SAAC Cup championship, click here.
 
Chris Ramey and Jeffery Goodson of Impact Signs, the presenting sponsor of the MIAA Commissioner’s Cup, were in attendance to help Commissioner Racy present the 2025-26 Commissioner’s Cup to Pittsburg State University President Dr. Thomas Newsom and Athletics Director Anthony Crespino. The 2025-26 Commissioner’s Cup is the Gorillas’ fifth consecutive all-sports trophy. To read more about Pitt State’s eight MIAA titles and view the final standings of the 2025-26 MIAA Commissioner’s Cup, click here.
 
Former MIAA Commissioner Dr. Bob Boerigter presented MIAA officials with the 2025-26 Dr. Bob Officiating Award of Excellence. MIAA basketball officials Brad Ferrie and Jocelyn Price joined Kerkhoff on stage for brief Q&As. MIAA softball umpire Anthony Lewis was unable to accept his award in Kansas City due to working an NCAA postseason assignment. To view past award winners and find more information on the MIAA’s Dr. Bob Officiating Award of Excellence, click here.
 
Brad Ferrie has dedicated himself to the game of basketball as a respected and accomplished official with over two decades of experience. Throughout his career, he’s officiated in many of the nation’s premier conferences and has earned numerous postseason and championship assignments. Brad has remained deeply connected to the MIAA, officiating conference games for many years and working three MIAA Championship games. He has been a valued mentor and leader for younger officials, reflecting his commitment to excellence, integrity, and the future of officiating.
 
Jocelyn Price began officiating basketball in 2019 and has since officiated college basketball throughout JUCO and across all three NCAA Divisions. She’s been officiating MIAA basketball games for the last six seasons, consistently working the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City and earning selections to two MIAA championship games. Since 2020, Jocelyn has also been selected to officiate NCAA Division II and III tournament games, along with the Division I Women’s NIT tournament. These experiences reflect her continued development and commitment to excellence in officiating.
 
A long-time softball umpire, Anthony Lewis has been officiating college softball for the past 15 years and has been a member of the MIAA staff for the past five seasons. He has earned postseason assignments at both the NCAA Division I and II levels and has worked many conference tournaments, NCAA Regional and Super Regional Championships.
 
Following the on-stage award presentations, members of the MIAA Hall of Fame Class of 2026 participated in brief Q&As with emcee Kirkhoff. Induction into the MIAA Hall of Fame is the highest honor the league gives to those who played, coached, administered, or officiated in this great and historic league. The 2026 class featured 12 total inductees — seven former MIAA student-athletes, three former coaches and/or administrators, one former MIAA official, and one team. To read more about the MIAA Hall of Fame Class of 2026, click here.
 
The event then turned its focus to the 2025-26 Ken B. Jones Award, presented by the Summit Pointe Financial Group. Named after the MIAA’s first full-time commissioner, the Ken B. Jones Award recognizes the Association’s top male and female student-athlete from each academic year. All five of the female finalists and three of the men’s finalists for the 2025-26 Ken B. Jones Award were in attendance last night and participated in brief interviews with former Ken B. Jones Award winner and current MIAA head football coach, Josh Lamberson. To find more information on the 10 finalists for the 2025-26 Ken B. Jones Award, click here.
 
The night concluded with the announcement of the 2025-26 Ken B. Jones Award winners. Summit Pointe Financial Group representative Kevin Kemmerer joined Kirkhoff and Commissioner Racy on stage to present the awards.
 
The University of Central Oklahoma swept the league’s highest student-athlete honor, with Gabe Johnson and Rylee Lemos announced as the male and female Ken B. Jones Award winners. Johnson became a three-time NCAA Division II individual national champion at 157 pounds in the 2025-26 wrestling season and Lemos was crowned the MIAA Player of the Year and back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year in the 2026 softball season. To learn more about the 2025-26 MIAA Ken B. Jones Award winners, click here.
 
Photos from last night’s event can be found in the gallery below. MIAA Nation can watch the 2026 MIAA Awards Celebration Ceremony presented by Seigfreid Bingham on demand, for free, at TheMIAANetwork.com/MIAA.