Moon Township, Pa. – A pair of
Robert Morris University intercollegiate athletic programs were honored Wednesday by the Northeast Conference (NEC) for posting the highest team grade point average (GPA) among its peers. Claiming Team GPA Awards for the 2019-20 academic year from RMU were the volleyball and women's basketball programs.
The RMU volleyball team finished with a 3.894 team GPA in 2019-20, recording the highest team GPA among all athletic programs in the NEC and earning its seventh NEC Team GPA Award in program history.
"I couldn't be more proud of the work that our student-athletes put forth in the classroom in 2019-20," volleyball head coach
Dale Starr said. "It was certainly a challenging way to conclude the academic year this spring, but the GPA our team finished with is a testament to their dedication and work ethic, both on the court and off."
Each of the 13 student-athletes on the active roster for the Colonials in 2019 were named to the 2019 NEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (3.20 GPA or higher), with 11 of those named to the 2019 NEC Commissioner's Honor Roll (3.75 GPA or higher). In all, each of the 13 student-athletes for RMU own a cumulative GPA of 3.64 or higher.
Junior setter
Whitney Brown, who owns a 3.99 cumulative GPA as a biology major, became the second volleyball student-athlete at Robert Morris to earn Academic All-America® honors according to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), as she was named to the
second team in 2019. The first female student-athlete from the junior class to be named an Academic All-American, Brown was also named the
2019 NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Robert Morris women's basketball recorded a team GPA of 3.767 in 2019-20 to claim its fourth consecutive NEC Team GPA Award honor.
"Our GPA is a testament to the daily work ethic of our student-athletes," RMU women's basketball head coach
Charlie Buscaglia said. "Each day there are sacrifices that our student-athletes make to give their best effort for this team GPA. I would like to give a special thanks to our coaching staff, who academically is led by Coach (Asami) Morita. I would also like to thank
Nicole Law for all the hard work serving our program and all of our programs at Robert Morris."
The RMU women's basketball team placed 13 student-athletes on the 2020 NEC Winter Academic Honor Roll, with six of those being named to the 2020 Commissioner's Honor Roll. Forward
Nneka Ezeigbo was named the
2020 NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's basketball, marking the third winner of the award in the last five seasons for the Colonials.
NEC student-athletes combined to post a 3.404 overall GPA in 2019-20, breaking the single-season record of 3.281 established in 2017-18. All 11 NEC institutions finished with a 3.229 GPA or higher, with 100 percent of women's programs (120-of-120) finishing with a 3.00 GPA or higher. On the men's side, 91.9 percent (194-of-211) finished with a 3.00 GPA or higher.
LIU claimed the 2020 NEC Institutional Academic Award, posting a 3.488 GPA in 2019-20. Saint Francis U (3.482) finished second, followed by Bryant (3.455), Sacred Heart (3.453) and Fairleigh Dickinson (3.443). Robert Morris athletic programs that competed in the NEC in 2019-20 combined to finish with a GPA of 3.428.
As a department in 2019-20, Robert Morris recorded a GPA of 3.476 among its 16 intercollegiate athletic programs, with 15 of its 16 programs finishing with a GPA of 3.00 or higher.
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