ATLANTA-- The Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) recognized both the UMBC and University of Hartford women's basketball programs on Tuesday with the release of the organization's Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. The Retrievers had the third-highest grade-point average (GPA) of all Division I programs for the 2009-10 year based on the nomination submitted by WBCA-member head coaches, while the Hawks ranked 23rd in the country.
“Congratulations to these teams who have excelled academically during the 2009-10 school year," WBCA CEO Beth Bass said. “Each of these coaches set an extraordinary example for their peers to follow by holding academics in such high esteem with their student-athletes."
UMBC, led by Head Coach Phil Stern, finished the season with a team GPA of 3.578 and is making its first appearance on the Top 25 Honor Roll. Only Utah Valley University (3.630) and South Dakota State University (3.622) in Division I bettered the Retrievers' mark.
The Retrievers earned a 13-17 record in 2009-10, including a 7-9 ledger in America East play, and graduated just one senior.
Head Coach Jen Rizzotti’s Hawks compiled a team GPA of 3.321 for the 2009-10 campaign and made the honor roll for the second straight year. The Hawks are one of just nine 2010 postseason teams (NCAA/WNIT) honored academically this year.
On the hardwood, the Hawks are coming off a 2009-10 season where they earned the program’s first ever at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after posting a 27-5 overall record and going undefeated in America East Conference play. Hartford's NCAA at-large bid marked the sixth-straight year the Hawks participated in postseason play.
GPAs are calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by each student-athlete on an institution's roster in the given academic terms by the total number of hours earned by the team. The GPAs are rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point. Per a motion passed by the WBCA Board of Directors in 2007, teams making the list of Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll must obtain at least a 3.000 overall GPA.
| Rank |
School |
2009-10
Head Coach |
Team GPA |
| 1 |
Utah Valley
University |
Cathy Nixon |
3.630 |
| 2 |
South Dakota State
University |
Aaron Johnston |
3.622 |
| 3 |
Univ. of Maryland,
Baltimore County |
Phil Stern |
3.578 |
| 4 |
Indiana State
University |
Teri Moren |
3.508 |
| 5 |
Creighton
University |
Jim Flanery |
3.506 |
| 6 |
Bowling Green
State University |
Curt Miller |
3.500 |
| 7 |
University of
Northern Iowa |
Tanya Warren |
3.464 |
| 8 |
DePaul University |
Douglas Bruno |
3.455 |
| 9 |
Lipscomb
University |
Frank Bennett |
3.452 |
| 10 |
University of
North Dakota |
Gene Roebuck |
3.442 |
| 11 |
University of New
Mexico |
Don Flanagan |
3.433 |
| 12 |
North Dakota State
University |
Carolyn DeHoff |
3.427 |
| 13 |
Northern Arizona
University |
Laurie Kelly |
3.425 |
| 14 |
Bucknell
University |
Kathy Fedorjaka |
3.422 |
| 15 |
Monmouth
University |
Stephanie Gaitley |
3.412 |
| 16 |
University of
South Dakota |
Ryun Williams |
3.368 |
| 17 |
Saint Bonaventure
University |
Jim Crowley |
3.354 |
| 18 |
University of
Northern Colorado |
Jaime White |
3.351 |
| 19 |
University of
Denver |
Erik Johnson |
3.342 |
| 20 |
Seattle University |
Joan Bonvicini |
3.341 |
| 21 |
University of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee |
Sandy Botham |
3.340 |
| 22 |
Eastern Washington
University |
Wendy Schuller |
3.328 |
| 23 |
University of
Hartford |
Jennifer Rizzotti |
3.321 |
| 24 |
Oakland University |
Beckie Francis |
3.318 |
| 25 |
Cornell University |
Dayna Smith |
3.308 |
About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. For additional information about the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.