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Somerset, NJ -- Saint Francis (PA) University has won the Northeast Conference (NEC) Institutional Academic Award for the 2008-09 academic year. With a combined grade point average of 3.234 in 19 sports, the Red Flash just edged out Quinnipiac (3.221) and Wagner (3.221).

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 22 sports are currently sponsored by the NEC: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s bowling, 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.

In winning its first Institutional Academic Award, Saint Francis (PA) had 17 of its 20 sports finish the year with team GPAs of at least 3.0 led by women’s golf at 3.634 and women’s volleyball at 3.538.

“Saint Francis is honored to have earned the Northeast Conference Institutional Academic Award for the highest overall GPA in the conference for 2008-09,” said Bob Krimmel, Saint Francis Director of Athletics. “This award is a reflection of the dedication of our student-athletes to excel in the classroom while working with our outstanding faculty. Our Faculty Athletics Representative, Brent Ottaway, and our Director of Student-Athlete Development, Craig Theissen, are two of the many people who are instrumental in our student-athletes’ academic success at Saint Francis. To have earned this award in a conference where academics are at the forefront of the mission of each member institution is humbling for the Red Flash Family. This truly is a team award for us as it reflects the commitment of our President, Fr. Gabriel Zeis, students, faculty, coaches, staff and the Saint Francis Administration.”

Overall, the NEC’s 4,300+ student-athletes averaged a 3.120 GPA for the 2008-09 year, an increase from 3.070 in 2007-08 and 3.039 in 2006-07. In total, there were 11 institutions that finished the year with at least a 3.0 GPA, compared to eight in 2007-08 and seven in 2006-07.

School                      NEC Sports   Overall GPA
Central Connecticut State       18          2.980
Fairleigh Dickinson             18          3.034
Long Island                     18          3.147
Monmouth                        19          3.160
Mount St. Mary’s                18          3.005
Quinnipiac                      18          3.221
Robert Morris                   19          3.116
Sacred Heart                    22          3.159
St. Francis (NY)                16          3.006
Saint Francis (PA)              20          3.234
Wagner                          19          3.221

The conference also recognized the teams with the best GPA in each sport. The Wagner men’s cross country team recorded a 3.657 grade point average for the year, the highest in any NEC sponsored sport.

Quinnipiac claimed an NEC-best five team GPA awards, followed by four apiece for Monmouth and Wagner. Long Island, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart were also multiple sport winners with two each.

NEC Team GPA Awards
Baseball                        Mount St. Mary’s           3.064
Men’s Basketball                Monmouth                   3.132
Women’s Basketball              Sacred Heart               3.281
Women’s Bowling                 Sacred Heart               3.428
Men’s Cross Country             Wagner                     3.657
Women’s Cross Country           Central Connecticut State  3.465
Field Hockey                    Monmouth                   3.475
Football                        Monmouth                   2.807
Men’s Golf                      Long Island                3.460
Women’s Golf                    Saint Francis (PA)         3.634
Men’s Indoor Track & Field      Quinnipiac                 3.300
Women’s Indoor Track & Field    Quinnipiac                 3.450
Women’s Lacrosse                Wagner                     3.515
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field     Quinnipiac                 3.300
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field   Quinnipiac                 3.450
Men’s Soccer                    Long Island                3.280
Women’s Soccer                  Wagner                     3.536
Softball                        Robert Morris              3.630
Women’s Swimming                Wagner                     3.639
Men’s Tennis                    Monmouth                   3.343
Women’s Tennis                  Robert Morris              3.520
Women’s Volleyball              Quinnipiac                 3.610

About the Northeast Conference
Now wrapping up 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.