Somerset, NJ -- The tight race for the 2010-11 Northeast Conference (NEC) Institutional Academic Award was a clear indication of the league’s commitment to academic excellence. Nowhere was this more evident than at Saint Francis (PA) University, where student-athletes posted a 3.270 combined grade point average in 21 sports to win the coveted award for a third straight year. The Red Flash edged out Robert Morris (3.256) and Wagner (3.201) for the honor. Overall, the NEC’s 4,800+ student-athletes averaged a 3.133 GPA for the 2010-11 year and 11 of the league’s 12 core member institutions finished the year with at least a 3.0 GPA.
"This is fantastic news for everyone connected to Red Flash Athletics and we are honored to have received this award from the Northeast Conference,” said Bob Krimmel, Saint Francis Director of Athletics. “Special thanks must go to our student-athletes for continuing our tradition of academic excellence and to our faculty for motivating our students through their teaching and mentoring in and out of the classroom. The leadership of John Krimmel, our Director of Student-Athlete Development, working with our coaches; the Academic Center for Enrichment; the Advising & Retention Office under the direction of Renee Bernard; and our Faculty Athletic Representatives, Brent Ottaway and Ed Zovinka, have provided us with a winning team in the academic arena. We are humbled to once again be honored and know that our Franciscan Goals of Higher Education and our President, Father Gabriel Zeis, have given us the spiritual leadership and faith to accomplish our academic goals at Saint Francis University.”
The Institutional Academic Award is presented annually to the NEC member who attains the highest overall institutional grade-point average amongst student-athletes competing in sports sponsored by the NCAA Division I conference. The NEC currently sponsors a total of 23 sports: 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.
Saint Francis (PA) not only improved on its 3.239 GPA from a year ago, but the 3.270 figure represents a high water mark for the Conference since the award was first established for the 2006-07 academic year. The Red Flash had 19 of their 21 teams record a GPA in excess of 3.0, led by the women’s tennis team with a program-best 3.621.
“Congratulations to Saint Francis University for their third consecutive Institutional Academic Award with a record breaking GPA of 3.270,” said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. “In addition, we pay tribute to all of the NEC student-athletes for averaging an equally impressive 3.133 GPA. Clearly this accomplishment demonstrates the league-wide commitment to the academic growth and success of our student-athletes.”
School NEC Sports Overall GPA
Bryant 20 3.022
Central Connecticut State 18 2.985
Fairleigh Dickinson 18 3.239
Long Island 18 3.211
Monmouth 19 3.170
Mount St. Mary’s 18 3.006
Quinnipiac 15 3.187
Robert Morris 19 3.221
Sacred Heart 22 3.183
St. Francis (NY) 16 2.968
Saint Francis (PA) 20 3.239
Wagner 19 3.187
The NEC also recognized those teams that compiled the best GPA in their respective sports. Robert Morris claimed an NEC-best five team GPA awards, followed by four for Wagner and three apiece for Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth and Quinnipiac.
NEC women’s tennis student-athletes posted the highest overall grades of any sport in the Conference, combining for a 3.426 GPA. Likewise, the St. Francis (NY) women’s golf team recorded a 3.704 grade point average, the best mark for a single program on the year.
NEC Team GPA Awards
Sport Recipient GPA
Baseball Fairleigh Dickinson 3.193
Men’s Basketball Quinnipiac 2.806
Women’s Basketball Monmouth 3.360
Women’s Bowling Adelphi 3.390
Men’s Cross Country Central Connecticut State 3.430
Women’s Cross Country Robert Morris 3.570
Field Hockey Monmouth 3.350
Football Robert Morris 2.900
Men’s Golf Fairleigh Dickinson 3.531
Women’s Golf St. Francis (NY) 3.704
Men’s Indoor Track & Field Wagner 3.285
Women’s Indoor Track & Field Quinnipiac 3.548
Men’s Lacrosse Robert Morris 3.120
Women’s Lacrosse Monmouth/Sacred Heart 3.310
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Wagner 3.285
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Quinnipiac 3.548
Men’s Soccer Long Island 3.390
Women’s Soccer Wagner 3.432
Softball Robert Morris 3.560
Women’s Swimming Wagner 3.564
Men’s Tennis Saint Francis (PA) 3.447
Women’s Tennis Robert Morris 3.630
Women’s Volleyball Fairleigh Dickinson 3.603
About the Northeast Conference
Now entering its 31st year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 12 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 23 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 14 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.