St. Edward's Athletics Named a Recipient of the Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – St. Edward's University Athletics has been named a recipient of the Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence for the second year in a row, as announced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Thursday.

Forty-two Division II member schools are recipients of the Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence, presented to member schools earning an Academic Success Rate of 90% or higher. St. Edward’s is the only Lone Star Conference school to earn the distinction.

The award is presented to Division II schools earning an academic success rate of 90% or higher. The Hilltoppers produced a four-year academic success rate of 91%.

St. Edward's is the only Division II school in the state of Texas and the Lone Star Conference to achieve an academic success rate of 90% or higher.

"Our student-athletes are leaders on this campus," St. Edward's Associate Vice President for Athletics Debbie Taylor said. "This award is another opportunity to show that our student-athletes are committed to their academic performance as much as their performance in athletic competition. We are committed to providing the highest levels of support to our student-athletes in both arenas."

The academic success rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment.

For Division II graduation rates, the NCAA in 2006 developed the academic success rate (ASR), which is similar to the Division I graduation success rate (GSR) but also includes freshmen who did not receive athletics aid but did participate in athletics.