Jake Van Tubbergen makes GV basketball history 

Senior forward Jake Van Tubbergen has always been one of Grand Valley State University’s most valuable players and he’s earned his moment in program history with 1,000 career rebounds this past week. Van Tubbergen is one of only four GVSU basketball alumni to break 1,000.

Van Tubbergen has been on the team for five years now, using his extra year of eligibility form the COVID-19 pandemic year. The freshman during the 2017-18 season came out swinging, earning GLIAC Freshman of the Year and Second team All-GLIAC honors.

Sophomore year, he repeated the success of his rookie year and went into his junior season as the first Laker to earn NABC All-American status since the 2007-08 season, hitting his 1,000th career point as well. Van Tubbergen also made First team All-GLIAC and First team All-Region.

His senior season didn’t count towards his eligibility, but he still managed to earn Preseason Player of the Year and First team All-GLIAC to continue his streak. The 1,000th career rebound is just another accomplishment that Van Tubbergen can tack onto his legacy at GVSU as he finishes out his last year as a Laker.

GV loses women’s sports legend Joan Boand last week

On Jan. 27, Grand Valley State University trailblazer and longtime professor and coach Joan Boand passed away at 88 years old.

In 1996 just two years after the school opened, Boand came to GVSU to teach physical education. As an athlete herself, Boand recognized how important women’s sports were and decided to turn GVSU into a leader for women’s athletics.

Her achievements began with the start of the women’s volleyball team in 1968 which she founded and coached for 26 years. Winning five national championships in a row plus one more, her success with the program translated to the development of several more sports teams for women. She coached the women’s basketball team to four GLIAC titles and the women’s softball team to 10 NCAA championships.

Before retiring in 1999, Boand served as the Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Women’s Administrator and earned herself the lifetime achievement award for Women Leaders in College Sports. She was also inducted into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame during her incredibly influential career, ultimately leading her to the legacy that GVSU honors today.

In 2020, Boand was commemorated with the Wall of National Championships in the GVSU Fieldhouse where her memory will live on with the school and continue to inspire, motivate, encourage and push women’s sports forward. Because of Boand, 20 out of the 27 national titles that GVSU holds are in women’s sports.