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Somerset, NJ -- Northeast Conference (NEC) student-athletes were not just prime performers on the field of play in 2021-22.
Displaying that same competitive spirit in their academic work, the NEC’s 5,000+ student-athletes flourished in the classroom. In particular, one school rose to the top of the charts and claimed the league’s top academic honor.
Saint Francis University repeated as the NEC Institutional Academic Award winner, and in the process, extended its own conference record with its sixth such honor. SFU student-athletes posted a 3.479 grade point average across 21 sports. The GPA was the fourth-highest in NEC annals as the Red Flash have now compiled three of the top four single-year GPAs in the 16-year history of the award.
SFU edged out LIU, which finished with a 3.459 GPA. Sacred Heart (3.437), Wagner (3.331) and Bryant (3.322) followed in that order to round out the top-five.
Overall, the NEC’s 5,000+ student-athletes combined for a 3.328 GPA, a figure that ranks third in league history. The high-water mark was established in 2019-20 with a 3.404 combined GPA.
Remarkably, 97.4 percent of NEC women’s teams (111-of-114) posted at least a 3.0 GPA and 90.7 percent of all conference teams (185-of-204) cracked the 3.0 mark.
“With so much on their plates, NEC student-athletes continue to maintain a laser focus on their academic pursuits while performing at a high level athletically and serving as pillars of their respective communities, and for that, I couldn’t be prouder,” said NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris. “That difficult balancing act is truly exemplified by Saint Francis University, which won its second straight NEC Institutional Academic Award with one of the highest single-year GPAs recorded in conference history. It reflects the synergy between the Red Flash administration, coaches, academic support staff and the student-athletes themselves to develop a culture that prioritizes peak performance in the classroom and all facets of campus life.”
Prior to its repeat, SFU finished second in the NEC Institutional Academic Award standings in 2019-20, and has earned a spot in the top-three in each of the last eight years. The Red Flash also won the award in 2017-18 and three straight years from 2008-11.
“As an athletic department and institution, we are proud beyond measure of being recognized again as the Northeast Conference Institutional Academic Award recipient,” said SFU Director of Athletics James Downer. “Combined with their continual displays of dedication, sacrifice and perseverance, the honor speaks to the limitless abilities our student-athletes at Saint Francis University. Maintaining our tradition of winning the NEC Institutional Academic Award will always remain a key objective towards realizing the paramount goals of our department. The continuous commitment towards achieving academic success displayed by our student-athletes, faculty, coaches and staff is a true testament of this accomplishment.”
At year’s end, 20-of-21 SFU teams that competed in NEC sponsored sports posted at least a 3.0 GPA and 12 compiled a 3.5 or better GPA on the year.
The Institutional Academic Award is presented annually to the NEC member who attains the highest overall institutional grade-point average amongst student-athletes competing in sports sponsored by the NCAA Division I conference. The NEC currently sponsors 24 sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s bowling, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis and women’s volleyball.
2021-22 School-By-School GPAs
School NEC Sports Overall GPA
Bryant 22 3.322
Central Connecticut 16 3.179
Fairleigh Dickinson 18 3.266
LIU 23 3.459
Merrimack 21 3.289
Mount St. Mary’s 21 3.225
Sacred Heart 23 3.437
St. Francis Brooklyn 18 3.189
Saint Francis U 21 3.479
Wagner 21 3.331
The NEC also recognized those teams that compiled the highest GPA in their respective sports. Sacred Heart claimed an NEC-best nine Team GPA awards, while LIU earned seven. Bryant and Saint Francis U pocketed a pair of honors, while Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s and St. Francis Brooklyn and Wagner picked up one apiece.
NEC women’s golf student-athletes posted the highest overall grades of any sport in the Conference, combining for a 3.613 GPA. The 3.921 grade point average compiled by the Saint Francis U women’s tennis team was the highest in any sport this past academic year, edging out the 3.840 GPA recorded by the Sacred Heart women’s golf team.
Four teams reached elite status by winning both NEC Championships and Team GPA awards, highlighted by three squads from Sacred Heart. The Pioneers won dual honors in women’s bowling, and men’s and women’s golf. LIU did the same in baseball.
2021-22 NEC Team GPA Awards
Sport School GPA
Baseball LIU 3.480
Men’s Basketball Merrimack 3.200
Men’s Cross Country LIU 3.480
Football LIU 3.250
Men’s Golf Sacred Heart 3.800
Men’s Lacrosse Sacred Heart 3.370
Men’s Soccer Sacred Heart 3.560
Men’s Swimming & Diving LIU 3.320
Men’s Tennis LIU 3.780
Men’s Indoor Track & Field Bryant 3.345
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Bryant 3.345
Women’s Basketball St. Francis Brooklyn 3.567
Women’s Bowling Sacred Heart 3.770
Women’s Cross Country Sacred Heart 3.690
Field Hockey Saint Francis U 3.583
Women’s Golf Sacred Heart 3.840
Women’s Lacrosse Wagner 3.600
Women’s Soccer Sacred Heart 3.710
Softball Mount St. Mary’s 3.698
Women’s Swimming & Diving LIU 3.554
Women’s Tennis Saint Francis U 3.921
Women’s Indoor Track & Field Sacred Heart 3.640
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Sacred Heart 3.640
Women’s Volleyball LIU 3.650
NEC Institutional Academic Award Winners
Year School GPA
2021-22 Saint Francis U 3.479
2020-21 Saint Francis U 3.482
2019-20 LIU 3.489
2018-19 Robert Morris 3.432
2017-18 Saint Francis U 3.423
2016-17 Sacred Heart 3.381
2015-16 Sacred Heart 3.331
2014-15 Sacred Heart/Wagner 3.279
2013-14 Robert Morris 3.295
2012-13 Wagner 3.305
2011-12 Robert Morris 3.279
2010-11 Saint Francis U 3.270
2009-10 Fairleigh Dickinson/Saint Francis U 3.239
2008-09 Saint Francis U 3.234
2007-08 Wagner 3.186
2006-07 Wagner 3.147
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 41st season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9), Baltimore (#26), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions in 2022-23 will include Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.