Tigers with 8th most Scholar Teams in NAIA

MITCHELL, S.D. – Another year, another heap of academic awards for Dakota Wesleyan University athletics, as 17 teams picked up a national honor from the NAIA for outstanding work in the classroom in 2015-16.

After seeing all teams make the grade a year ago, the Tigers finished with 17 more NAIA Scholar Team Awards for 2015-16, it was announced by the NAIA on Friday. The awards come on the heels of a year that saw DWU rack up five CoSIDA Academic All-American nods and 34 individual Tiger NAIA Scholar Athletes.

"DWU student athletes continue to perform remarkably in competition and in the classroom, setting a high standard in the NAIA," DWU Athletic Director Jon Hart said. "This accomplishment reflects everything we stand for. I am so proud of our student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff and administration for continuing a legacy of excellence at DWU."

For a team to be considered for the NAIA Scholar-Team award, it must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) as defined by the institution. The team grade point average includes all eligible varsity student-athletes.

The top DWU teams on the list include women's golf with a 3.63 GPA, followed closely by Tiger volleyball at 3.62. The women's basketball team finished the year at 3.53, while women's soccer carried a 3.43 average in 2015-16.

"This recognition affirms our student's exceptional commitment to not just their athletic performance, but more importantly, to their academic performance," DWU President Amy Novak said. "The dedication and work ethic of our student athletes is impressive and the focus of our coaches on emphasizing the importance of academic performance makes awards like this possible. This recognition reflects a great collaboration between athletes, coaches, and our faculty and staff. We are immensely proud of our students and their commitment to academic excellence."

For full list of NAIA Scholar Teams go to http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=211069013&DB_OEM_ID=27900