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Somerset, NJ -- Wagner College captured its second straight Northeast Conference Institutional Academic Award for the 2007-08 academic year. With a combined GPA of 3.186 in 19 sports, the Seahawks narrowly edged out Quinnipiac (3.151) and Monmouth (3.150).

The honor is presented to the NEC member with the highest overall institutional grade point average for student-athletes competing in NEC sponsored sports. A total of 21 sports are sponsored by the NEC: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, field hockey, men’s and women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis and women’s volleyball.

Wagner claimed a NEC-best eight team GPA awards, two more than last year. The Seahawks took home honors in men’s cross country (3.549), women’s cross country (3.529), women’s lacrosse (3.285), softball (3.238), women’s swimming (3.334), men’s indoor track and field (3.258) and men’s outdoor track and field (3.258).

"We at Wagner College are extremely proud of winning the Northeast Conference Institutional Academic Award for the second straight year," said Walt Hameline, Wagner Director of Athletics. "First and foremost, this is a true credit to our many fine student-athletes who devote incredible hours to their studies and to their sports. I also have to recognize our fine coaching staff for the discipline and structure that they provide our student-athletes. This is certainly a proud day to be a Seahawk."

Overall, the NEC’s 4,300+ student-athletes averaged a 3.070 GPA for the 2007-08 year. A total of eight institutions - Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner - finished the year with at least a 3.00 GPA.

School                   NEC Sports  Overall GPA
Central Connecticut State   18          2.968
Fairleigh Dickinson         17          3.037
Long Island                 17          3.024
Monmouth                    19          3.150
Mount St. Mary’s            18          2.988
Quinnipiac                  18          3.151
Robert Morris               19          3.051
Sacred Heart                21          3.131
St. Francis (NY)            15          2.971
Saint Francis (PA)          20          3.092
Wagner                      19          3.186

The conference also recognized the teams with the best GPA in each sport. The Robert Morris women’s volleyball team recorded a 3.780 grade point average for the year, the highest in any NEC sponsored sport.

NEC Team GPA Awards
Baseball                          Mount St. Mary’s      3.040
Men’s Basketball                  Monmouth              3.010
Women’s Basketball                Sacred Heart          3.264
Men’s Cross Country               Wagner                3.549
Women’s Cross Country             Wagner                3.529
Field Hockey                      Monmouth              3.420
Football                          Monmouth              2.860
Men’s Golf                        Fairleigh Dickinson   3.355
Women’s Golf                      Fairleigh Dickinson   3.421
Men’s Indoor Track & Field        Wagner                3.258
Women’s Indoor Track & Field      Quinnipiac            3.390
Women’s Lacrosse                  Wagner                3.285
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field       Wagner                3.258
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field     Quinnipiac            3.390
Men’s Soccer                      Saint Francis (PA)    3.317
Women’s Soccer                    Monmouth              3.410
Softball                          Wagner                3.238
Women’s Swimming                  Wagner                3.334
Men’s Tennis                      Wagner                3.347
Women’s Tennis                    Sacred Heart          3.403
Women’s Volleyball                Robert Morris         3.620

About the Northeast Conference
Now entering its 28th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 11 institutions of higher learning located throughout five states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#24), and Hartford/New Haven (#28). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 13 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. Bryant will become the NEC’s 12th member upon completion of the NCAA Division I reclassification process in 2012. For more information on the NEC, visit www.northeastconference.org.