The SLIAC is pleased to announce its nominees for the 2026 D3CA Student-Athlete of the Year award.
Cristian Del Gobbo, from Lyon College, is the male representative from the SLIAC. He was the SLIAC Post-Graduate Scholar recipient earlier this spring. Del Gobbo, a three-year member of the Lyon men's soccer program, is majoring in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Data Science. A native of Pedaso, Italy, he holds a 4.0 grade-point average and is looking to focus his graduate studies on Applied Mathematics with an emphasis on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Del Gobbo founded and served as President of the AI Club and Bitcoin Club at Lyon College and also serves as the President of the International Student Association. He co-founded the Data Science Consulting Club and serves as a mathematics tutor on campus. In addition Del Gobbo has represented Lyon nationally, attending the National Conference of Undergraduate Reserach.
This year's female nominee is Emma Livingston, from Spalding University. The 2026 SLIAC Female Athlete of the Year, Livingston helped the Godlen Eagles women's soccer team to the SLIAC Tournament Championship; finishing the year with a 14-5-2 overall record. Livingston was the SLIAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the league with 21 goals, adding 6 assists, and totaling 48 points. She tallied 7 game-winning goals and tied the program record for goals in a season. Following the season she was named to the All-Region Second Team. A senior, Livingston finished with a 4.00 grade-point average while majoring in Business Administration.
Del Gobbo and Livingston will represent the SLIAC on the regional ballot with regional winners being placed on the national ballot. The national D3CA Student-Athlete of the Year award winners will be announced on September 3rd.
Selection criteria for the DIIICA Student-Athlete of the Year awards include academic achievement, athletics excellence, service, leadership, and a personal statement submitted by each nominee. Conferences may submit two nominations per award if one represents an international student or ethnic minority. Graduating seniors are the only student-athletes eligible.
The initial round of voting was conducted by SLIAC Faculty Athletic Representatives. Each conference nominee moves forward to the regional ballot, where commissioners within each of the ten regions, select the top male and female honorees. Regional winners will be finalists, voted on by the D3CA awards committee, for the Division III Commissioner's Association Men's Sport and Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year.
About the DIIICA: The Division III Commissioners Association became a stand-alone organization in January 1992, after previously serving as a combined group with the Division II Commissioners Association. The association is comprised of 43 NCAA Division III conferences, representing over 440 public and private institutions. The purpose of the DIIICA is to empower commissioners to effectively lead their conferences and positively impact Division III intercollegiate athletics by identifying challenges, developing solutions, and taking collective action that reflects the conference perspective.