INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference had three member institutions, Hillsdale College, Trevecca Nazarene University and Cedarville University, announced as recipients of The Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence.
The Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence is awarded to Division II schools that have achieved an Academic Success Rate of 90% or higher. This year, 43 member schools earned this honor.
Bentley and Saint Michael's were the top performers, earning an ASR of 99%. Biola, Hillsdale and Thomas Jefferson University rounded out the top five with 98%.
The Northeast-10 Conference led the division with eight athletics programs achieving scores of 90% or more, followed by the Great Lakes Valley Conference with five programs.
"It is an honor recognizing 43 schools for this prestigious award," said Steven Shirley, president of Minot State and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "I applaud these schools and student-athletes for their hard work, commitment and dedication to achieving academic excellence."
The Division II ASR includes transfers into a school in the calculation and removes transfers out who left school while academically eligible. The ASR also includes the more than 31,000 non-scholarship student-athletes who were enrolled in the four years covered in the most recent data.
Even when using the less-inclusive federal graduation rates, student-athletes are outperforming their peers in the general student population by 8%. For Division II athletes, the federal rate increased 1 percentage point to 60%, and the general student body increased 1 point to 52%.
This is the 11th year the award has been given. Ten schools have earned the award every year: Assumption, Bentley, Eckerd, Hillsdale, Rockhurst, Rollins, Saint Michael's, Seattle Pacific, Stonehill and University of the Sciences.
Also in Division II, the graduation rate and Academic Success Rate (ASR) among student-athletes also saw an uptick. Division II graduation rates increased to 76%, a 2-point increase from last year's rate, according to the most recent Academic Success Rate data.
Similar to Division I's Graduation Success Rate, the Division II ASR includes transfers into a school in the calculation and removes likely transfers out who left school while academically eligible. The ASR also includes the more than 31,000 non-scholarship student-athletes who were enrolled in the four years covered in the most recent data.
"The continued increase in four-year graduation rates further demonstrates that Division II student-athletes are exemplary students and athletes, who are dedicated to excelling in the classroom, in their sports and in their communities," said Terri Steeb Gronau, NCAA vice president of Division II. "This success also demonstrates how committed our educators and administrators are to fulfilling the division's Life in the Balance philosophy, by enhancing the student-athlete experience academically and athletically."
Even when using the less-inclusive federal graduation rates, student-athletes are outperforming their peers in the general student population by 8%. For Division II athletes, the federal rate increased 1 percentage point to 60%, and the general student body increased 1 point to 52%.
Like the NCAA GSR in Division I, the ASRs in Division II and Division III were formed after presidents and chancellors called for the Association to develop a measure of graduation success that better reflects transfer patterns and the population of student-athletes in higher education.
The schools receiving the 2021 Presidents' Award are:
| INSTITUTION |
FOUR-YEAR ASR |
CONFERENCE |
| Bentley University |
99% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Saint Michael's College |
99% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Biola University |
98% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Hillsdale College |
98% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| Thomas Jefferson University |
98% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Davenport University |
96% |
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Le Moyne College |
96% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Rollins College |
96% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Rockhurst University |
95% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Seattle Pacific University |
95% |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Dominican University of California |
94% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Eckerd College |
94% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis |
94% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Saint Anselm College |
94% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Cedarville University |
93% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| Georgia College |
93% |
Peach Belt Conference |
| Michigan Technological University |
93% |
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Point Loma Nazarene University |
93% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Trevecca Nazarene University |
93% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| University of the Sciences |
93% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Adelphi University |
92% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Barry University |
92% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Davis & Elkins College |
92% |
Mountain East Conference |
| Mercyhurst University |
92% |
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference |
| Regis University (Colorado) |
92% |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
| Stonehill College |
92% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Truman State University |
92% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Western Washington University |
92% |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Assumption University |
91% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Caldwell University |
91% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Colorado Christian University |
91% |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
| Flagler College |
91% |
Peach Belt Conference |
| Florida Southern College |
91% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Holy Family University |
91% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Lewis University |
91% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Southern Wesleyan University |
91% |
Conference Carolinas |
| St. Edward's University |
91% |
Lone Star Conference |
| William Jewell College |
91% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Concordia University, St. Paul |
90% |
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
| Converse College |
90% |
Conference Carolinas |
| Saint Martin's University |
90% |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Southern New Hampshire University |
90% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| St. Thomas Aquinas College |
90% |
East Coast Conference |