During halftime of its men's basketball game against Yale, the University of Vermont celebrated its academic success with the official presentation of the 2009-10 Academic Cup, which it was awarded in June.

With many of the top student-athletes from each of Vermont's athletic teams on hand, America East Commissioner Patrick Nero awarded the Cup to UVM Director of Athletics Dr. Robert  Corran. This is the sixth consecutive Academic Cup for the Vermont, which attained a 3.19 cumulative grade-point average last year, the highest in the 15-year history of the award.

"Congratulations to the University of Vermont on its sixth straight Academic Cup and record-setting grade-point average," said America East Commissioner Patrick Nero in June. "This accomplishment is a testament to the hard work done by the student-athletes, as well as terrific leadership by President Dan Fogel, Athletic Director Bob Corran and the entire Vermont athletic department."

The Academic Cup, established by the America East Board of Directors in 1995, is presented to the institution whose student-athletes post the highest grade-point averages during that academic year. In all, seven of America East's nine institutions compiled grade-point averages over 3.0, while 65 percent of the league's teams (97-of-149) had GPAs of 3.0 or better. Furthermore, the league's nearly 3,200 student-athletes compiled an impressive 3.05 cumulative average during the 2009-10 season.

America East is proud to have one of most comprehensive academic awards programs in the country. In addition to the Academic Cup, an All-Academic team comprised of student-athletes that excel both academically and athletically is chosen in each of the conference's 20 sports by a committee consisting of faculty athletic representatives, academic advisors and sports information directors. Additionally, a scholar-athlete, someone who distinguishes himself/herself as the top student-athlete in his/her sport, is awarded. From that group, one male and one female is selected the America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Finally, the conference recognizes all student-athletes who achieve at least a 3.0 GPA on its Academic Honor Roll, with those achieving a 3.5 average or better receiving Commissioner's Honor Roll status.