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Bronco men have highest grades in the MAC

March 25, 2009

KALAMAZOO--Male athletes at Western Michigan University have been recognized for the highest grade point average among men's athletic programs in the Mid-American Conference, earning the University a new award for student achievement.

The Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) Athletic Achievement Awards are designed to recognize the conference school with the highest overall grade point average rank by gender. A similar MAC award went to Central Michigan University for having the highest grade point average rank among its female athletes.

The conference worked with athletic academic advisors to compute the winners using the same method as the longtime Reese and Jacoby trophies. Only MAC-sponsored sports are used.

Among the conference's men's programs, WMU had the highest GPA rank average, earning 10.8 points. Bronco student-athletes carried the highest league GPA in three of five MAC-sponsored sports--basketball, baseball and tennis--during the 2007-08 academic year. WMU's football program ranked second in the conference as well. CMU's GPA rank average for female student-athletes earned a score of 8.3125 points.

"We are extremely proud of our student-athletes for their continued pursuit of academic excellence, and it is an honor to receive this recognition from the Mid-American Conference," says Kathy Beauregard, WMU athletic director. "Associate Athletic Director Jeff Stone and Director of Academic Services Maria Sanchez are to be commended for their extensive time and tremendous effort spent with our student-athletes."

The overall winner for grade point average in both men's and women's athletics was Northern Illinois with a 3.04 overall athletic grade point average, making NIU the winner of the 2007-08 Mid-American Conference Institutional Academic Achievement Award. WMU came in fourth overall, with a 3.016 grade point average for both male and female athletes. Ball State University was second with 3.124 GPA and CMU was third at 3.019.

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

WMU News
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