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Somerset, NJ -- The NCAA has honored 40 Northeast Conference (NEC) teams from the 954 across the nation with public recognition awards for exceptional academic performance. The 40 teams represent 22 sports from 10 NEC institutions. These awards are presented each year to teams scoring in the top 10 percent in each sport with respect to their Academic Progress Rates (APRs).

NCAA Public Recognition Award Winners Bryant University Field Hockey Men’s Cross Country Men’s Golf Men’s Tennis Men’s Indoor Track & Field Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Softball Women’s Soccer Women’s Swimming Women’s Volleyball Fairleigh Dickinson University Men's Golf Women’s Bowling Women’s Volleyball Monmouth University Women’s Tennis* Mount St. Mary’s University Baseball Men’s Tennis Women’s Cross Country Quinnipiac University Women’s Basketball Women’s Cross Country Women’s Tennis Women’s Indoor Track & Field Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Robert Morris University Women’s Golf Women's Tennis Women's Volleyball Sacred Heart University Men’s Indoor Track & Field Men's Outdoor Track & Field Men’s Volleyball* Women's Basketball Women’s Cross Country Women's Ice Hockey Women’s Rowing* St. Francis (NY) College Men’s Cross Country Men's Water Polo Women’s Golf Women’s Tennis Saint Francis (PA) University Men’s Golf Women’s Cross Country Women's Volleyball Wagner College Women’s Tennis * Have earned Public Recognition Awards in each of the last seven years.

The 40 teams earning Public Recognition establish a new NEC record. Of those 40 teams, two captured NEC championships this past season. Quinnipiac won its record seventh straight women’s cross country title and Sacred Heart claimed its third women’s basketball crown.

Three NEC teams hold the distinction of having earned Public Recognition Awards in each of the seven years of the NCAA’s academic reform program: Monmouth women’s tennis, along with Sacred Heart men’s volleyball and women’s rowing. Only 209 teams across the nation have been recognized all seven years.

“The Northeast Conference strongly values the academic success of our student-athletes, and this record-breaking achievement clearly demonstrates the high level of dedication and commitment our student-athletes, coaches and administrators place on their educational mission,” said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. “I congratulate all 40 NEC teams that received the NCAA Public Recognition Award. It’s a fantastic tribute to the respective athletic departments and institutions.”

Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR. The score measures eligibility and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.

The NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multi-year APR. The announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports.

The 954 teams publicly recognized this year for high achievement include 560 women’s teams and 394 men’s or mixed squads. A total of 263 schools, out of 347 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list. Last year, 909 teams were honored.

Top-performing teams this year posted APR scores ranging from 978 to a perfect 1,000.

“These teams prove that it is possible to not only balance academic and athletic commitment, as most student-athletes do; but to exceed standards and post outstanding academic scores,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said. “The drive and determination shown in the classroom and on the field by these men and women represent what it means to be an NCAA student-athlete.”

Multi-year APRs for all Division I sports teams will be announced on June 20.

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 31st year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 12 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 23 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit www.northeastconference.org.