CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The America East Champion University of Hartford women's basketball team scored the seventh-highest team grade point average in Division I during the 2010-11 season and, along with regular-season champion UMBC, are members of the WBCA Academic Top 25 as announced Monday.
The WBCA Academic Top 25 annually recognizes NCAA Divisions I, II and III;
NAIA; and junior college/community college teams across the nation that carry
the highest combined grade point averages (GPAs) inclusive of all
student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2010-11 season is
the 14th in which the WBCA has presented the standings.
"With the increased importance and scrutiny of the APR (academic
progress rate) in the landcape of intercollegiate athletics, these remarkable
teams are setting the bar for academic excellence," said WBCA CEO Beth
Bass. "Congratulations to all these STUDENT-athletes and their
coaches."
A team’s GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points
earned by the total number of hours attempted by all team members in the
academic terms (semesters or quarters) that the season spans. Weighted grades
are converted to a 4.0 scale. The GPAs are rounded to the nearest thousandth of
a point. Teams are nominated for the honor by a WBCA-member head coach. A team
must have a 3.000 or better GPA to be nominated.
With a 3.456 team GPA, the Hawks rank seventh in the nation. The Retrievers, who feature America East Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Michelle Kurowski, finished the season with a 3.374 to rank 20th. Both teams are repeat selections.
Hartford is one of seven NCAA Tournament qualifiers on the WBCA Top 25.
South Dakota State
sits atop the NCAA Division I Academic Top 25 with a 3.666 team GPA.
2010-11 WBCA Division I Academic Top 25
| |
Institution
|
2010-11
Head Coach
|
Team GPA
|
|
1
|
South Dakota State University
|
Aaron Johnston
|
3.666
|
|
2
|
Bucknell University
|
Kathy Fedorjaka
|
3.632
|
|
3
|
DePaul University
|
Douglas Bruno
|
3.582
|
|
4
|
Creighton University
|
Jim Flanery
|
3.527
|
|
5
|
Utah Valley University
|
Cathy Nixon
|
3.524
|
|
6
|
Indiana State University
|
Teri Moren
|
3.518
|
|
7
|
University of Hartford
|
Jennifer Rizzoti
|
3.456
|
|
8
|
University of New Mexico
|
Yvonne Sanchez
|
3.454
|
|
9
|
University of Dayton
|
James Jabir
|
3.445
|
|
10
|
Canisius College
|
Terrence Zeh
|
3.441
|
|
11
|
Bowling Green State University
|
Curt Miller
|
3.433
|
|
12
|
Montana State University-Bozeman
|
Tricia Binford
|
3.419
|
|
13
|
University of Montana
|
Robin Selvig
|
3.411
|
|
14
|
University of Akron
|
Jodi Kest
|
3.405
|
|
15
|
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
|
Sandy Botham
|
3.402
|
|
16
|
Oakland University
|
Beckie Francis
|
3.399
|
|
17
|
Youngstown State University
|
Robert Boldon
|
3.395
|
|
18
|
University of South Dakota
|
Ryun Williams
|
3.390
|
|
19
|
University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
|
Matthew Bollant
|
3.378
|
|
20
|
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
|
Phil Stern
|
3.374
|
|
21
|
Lipscomb University
|
Frank Bennett
|
3.373
|
|
T22
|
University of North Dakota
|
Gene Roebuck
|
3.358
|
|
T22
|
University of Northern Colorado
|
Jaime White
|
3.358
|
|
24
|
University of Evansville
|
Oties Epps
|
3.340
|
|
25
|
University of Denver
|
Erik Johnson
|
3.335
|