COMPLETE NEC RELEASE (PDF)
 
WAGNER STUDENT-ATHLETE SUCCESS
 
Somerset, NJ - For a Northeast Conference (NEC) record fourth time, Wagner claimed the league's Institutional Academic Award in its 19 sponsored sports, as the Seahawks share 2014-15 top honors with Sacred Heart as the two institutions posted identical 3.279 grade point average GPAs.
 
The Seahawks and Pioneers edged out Saint Francis U (3.251) and LIU Brooklyn (3.235) for the top spot.
 
The NEC also recognized those teams that compiled the highest GPA in their respective sports. Wagner claimed an NEC-best seven Team GPA awards, while Sacred Heart had four teams honored, along with three apiece for St. Francis Brooklyn and Saint Francis U.
 
The seven Seahawk teams that garnered the top GPA in their sports were Men's Cross Country (3.342), Men's Indoor Track & Field (3.193), Men's Lacrosse (3.265), Men's Outdoor Track & Field (3.193), Women's Soccer, (3.557), Softball (3.583) and Women's Tennis (3.541).
 
Overall, the NEC's 4,000+ student-athletes averaged a record-high 3.186 GPA for the 2014-15 academic year.  Similarly, 76.1 percent of NEC teams finished with a 3.0 or better GPA.
 
"I'm so proud and honored to lead a conference where breaking records in the classroom is celebrated with as much, or even more, excitement than breaking records on the field of play," said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner.  "And NEC student-athletes have a lot to celebrate this year, as their collective hard work and dedication resulted in a record-high 3.19 overall GPA year.  Congratulations to both Sacred Heart and Wagner for leading the way with identical 3.279 GPAs.  They have set the bar extremely high for future NEC student-athletes to come!"
 
Wagner was previously honored in the 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2012-13 academic years.  The Seahawks established the NEC all-time GPA mark when Green & White student-athletes combined to post a 3.305 during the 2012-13 season.  In NEC sponsored sports this past year, Wagner saw 17 of its 19 teams compile a 3.0 or better GPA with 12 of them achieving at least a 3.20 GPA.
"I am so pleased with dedication of the young men and woman of the Wagner athletic program," said Dr. Richard Guarasci, Wagner College President.  "They are engaged students and active participants in making a difference in the lives of so many who are denied the opportunities that they have available to them.  Our students excel as students, citizens and athletes."
 
"I am extremely proud that the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes in the classroom is being recognized in this way," said Walt Hameline, Wagner Director of Athletics.  "I salute them on their academic accomplishments and for receiving this prestigious honor for the fourth time in this award's nine-year history."
 
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 22 sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's bowling, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and 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.
 
NEC women's golf student-athletes posted the highest overall grades of any sport in the Conference, combining for a 3.512 GPA.  Likewise, the 3.94 grade point average compiled by the LIU Brooklyn women's golf team set a new NEC record for highest single-season GPA since the Conference started tracking on a sport-by-sport basis back in 2006-07.
 
Sacred Heart baseball and football, along with St. Francis Brooklyn women's basketball not only captured NEC championships, but also registered the highest team GPA in their respective sports.
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now wrapping up its 34th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 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 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.
 
Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department.