Five John Brown University athletic programs were honored for the second consecutive season as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its 2014-15 Scholar-Team Awards, which included 1,502 programs across the country.
The women's cross country program led all JBU teams with a 3.57 grade-point average, followed by volleyball (3.48), women's soccer (3.36), women's tennis (3.30) and men's cross country (3.18). All five programs were awarded Scholar-Team status in 2013-14.
"I am very proud of our Golden Eagle teams that were named NAIA Scholar-Teams," said Director of Athletics Robyn Daugherty. "This award really highlights the hard work JBU student-athletes are doing in the classroom and it encourages our coaches who work so hard with our student-athletes in competition, but also in academics, leadership and character building."
Missouri Baptist's women's tennis team, which finished the academic year with a NAIA-best combined 3.94 grade-point average, was selected as the Scholar-Team of the Year. Siena Heights' (Mich.) women's golf team (3.93) finished second, followed by Westminster's (Utah) women's cross country team, which finished third (3.84).
Biola (Calif.) had the distinction of having 18 of its teams honored on the list, a feat unsurpassed in this academic year but matched by three other schools: Campbellsville (Ky.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) and Taylor (Ind.). Concordia (Neb.), Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and Spring Arbor (Mich.) all followed closely with 17 such appearances. Aquinas (Mich.), Ashford (Iowa), Davenport (Mich.), Hastings (Neb.), Indiana Wesleyan and St. Francis (Ill.) tied for the third-most appearances with 16.
For a team to be considered for the NAIA Scholar-Team award, it must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) as defined by the institution. The team grade-point average includes all eligible varsity student-athletes.
Sports on 07/26/2015