RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University was announced as the winner of the Secure the Ballot, Ballot Bowl competition it was announced this week. VCU Athletics earned this award as the top collegiate athletics department for voter registration in the country.
 
"Our entire department made voter registration a major priority during this election cycle," said VCU Vice President and Director of Athletics Ed McLaughlin. "Much of the credit for this award goes to our student-athletes for their passion and perseverance, especially to those who voted in their first election ever this year. They took the time to educate themselves on the importance of voting and the fact that every vote matters. We take a great deal of pride in issues that impact our community such as voter registration so I appreciate how much this award shows the fruit of our hard work."
 
The Ballot Bowl competition was sponsored by the Nonpartisan voter registration and civic engagement organization. VCU was one of dozens of collegiate athletics departments to participate in registering student-athletes, coaches, staff members and fans. During the Ballot Bowl competition, Secure the Ballot and its partner universities registered an impressive 2,318 new voters.
 
During the course of the Ballot Bowl competition, VCU's Student Athlete Advisory Board and VCU Athletics launched the Rams Vote initiative. Rams Vote sought to coordinate voter engagement through the use of registration drives, education and voter rights awareness with the goal of engaging student-athletes, staff and fans in the voting process.
 
SAAC sponsored a series of virtual voter registration drives in with student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans were encouraged to check their registration status and register to vote. VCU Athletics also held session for student-athletes on voting rights and importance and declared election day a holiday and mandatory off-day so that all staff and student-athletes had the opportunity to vote.
 
"We are so excited to have the opportunity to work with outstanding partners like Virginia Commonwealth University, who are so committed to their student-athletes' success. We are proud to award this year's Ballot Bowl to VCU as the nation's top athletics program for voter registration," said Cory Alpert, Executive Director of Secure the Ballot. "We are grateful to all of our partner institutions for their participation this year, and we congratulate all 2,318 new voters who are now able to participate in our country's greatest tradition: democracy."
 
To learn more about the Ballot Bowl and this year's final leaderboard, fans are encouraged to visit securetheballot.org/ballotbowl.