WCU Lands School-Record 148 Student Athletes on D2 ADA Honor Roll

Complete List of Honorees

CLEVELAND, Ohio – West Chester University put a school-record 148 student-athletes on the 2019-20 Division II Athletic Director's Association (ADA) Academic Honor Roll list it was recently announced.
 
In order for a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletics director must be a current dues playing member of the D2 ADA. The student-athlete must: have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale; have completed a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work at a two-year and/or four-year institution; and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year.
 
All student-athletes meeting the above criteria are eligible for the award.
 
In total, there were 15,315 student-athletes from 201 institutions recognized for the 2019-20 Academic Achievement Awards. These numbers shattered the records for highest number of participating institutions and the largest number of student-athletes being nominated since the award program's inception. For the second-straight year, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) has the largest number of student-athlete honorees with 1,365 total, closely followed by the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) with 1,333 and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with 1,220.

"In a year when we can use all of the good news, the D2 ADA Officers and Board of Directors are proud to recognize the highest number of student-athletes with the Academic Achievement Award than ever before," said D2 ADA President J.R. Smith, director of athletics at Chadron State College. "The nominations also came from a record number of institutions, showcasing the passion and dedication of our Association and Division II as a whole."
 
West Chester topped its previous  high from a year ago of 134 honorees and has increased its number of student-athletes who qualify for the academic honor roll each year that the list has been in existence. This year's total of 148 was a major reason that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) landed the most student-athletes of any Division II conference on the list. Only Gannon and Seton Hill had more honorees within the PSAC than West Chester. Of the PASSHE schools in the conference, West Chester had the most student-athletes listed.
 
"I am very excited to see the highest number of student-athletes get recognized for their academic achievements this past year," said D2 ADA President Chris Ratcliff, director of athletics at Rogers State University. "The number of institutions recognizing their student-athletes' academic achievements continues to rise.  As a board, this is perhaps one of our biggest initiatives.  We see the value of acknowledging academic achievements.  This is a way for our member institutions, through D2 ADA, to recognize our student-athletes."
 
About D2 ADA: The D2 ADA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of Division II athletics directors. For more information about the D2 ADA, please visit www.div2ada.com. The D2 ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 56^th year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.