CLEVELAND, OHIO - The Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) announced the 2020-21 recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards. The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 14th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level.
Among the record 16,164 student-athletes from 187 institutions was West Chester University, which set a new school mark with 184 honorees. The Golden Rams ranked third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) behind Mercyhurst (221) and Seton Hill (186) and sixth nationally overall. For the third consecutive year, the PSAC had the largest number of student-athlete honorees with 1,466 total.
"It is incredible to think that our athletes excelled in the classroom despite having to deal with the many stressors associated with COVID-19. To see once again that a record-breaking number of students are recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award is simply astonishing," said Dr. Bren Stevens, Vice President for Athletics at the University of Charleston and current D2 ADA President. "I am extraordinarily impressed by the efforts of our member institutions to ensure that they provide special recognitions for their respective athletes, as they are certainly deserving."
Independently, the Mountain East Conference's University of Charleston (WV) led the way with 260 honorees, followed closely by Mercyhurst University of the PSAC with 221 award winners. University of Indianapolis of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) finished third with 215 recipients and another GLVC representative Lindenwood University came in fourth overall with 197. Rounding out the top-five was the PSAC's Seton Hill University with 186 nominees.
In order for a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletics director of the Division II institution MUST BE a CURRENT dues-paying member of the D2 ADA.
Also, the student-athlete must:
- have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale
- have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work
- have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year
- Given the vast experiences institutions have had this year when it comes to participation, all athletes who meet bullet point items 1 and 2 are still eligible as long as they were still an active member of the roster during this academic year.
