INDIANAPOLIS – Going 10 for 10 certainly sounds very impressive, whether it's during competition …
 
… or during class time.
 
But when it comes to academic success, Seattle Pacific student-athletes are now 11 for 11.
 
That's because for the 11^th year in a row, SPU has been presented with the NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence.
 
The award recognizes a four-year academic success rate (ASR) of 90 percent or higher.
 
For the most recent four-year period, Seattle Pacific's ASR was 95 percent. As defined by the award's eligibility standards, that means 95 percent of all Falcon student-athletes from the 2011-14 cohort graduated within six years of initial enrollment.
 
"To say that we are proud of receiving this recognition again does not accurately nor fully capture the sentiment," SPU athletic director Jackson Stave said. "To be recognized again as an institution and department that consistently lives out our mission of academic excellence is both exciting, but also a testament to our students, coaches, faculty, and staff at Seattle Pacific.  This is not an easy bar to reach, and without the work and support of so many on campus this would not be achievable."

School athletic departments that achieve a four-year academic success rate of 90 percent or higher are presented with the Presidents' Award.
 
SPU is one of just 10 schools that has been on the list all 11 years that the honor has been presented.

 

"I sincerely hope that this continued academic success, coupled with our continued athletic success, is celebrated," Stave said. "It is rare, but it's but is a reflection of the caliber of young women and men we have the pleasure of working with at SPU."

In essence, almost all Division II student-athletes are considered when calculating the percentages. That includes transfers as well as those who aren't receiving any scholarship aid.
 
SPU and Rockhurst University of Kansas City, Missouri, were both in the 95^th percentile, tied for ninth overall among the 43 recipients of the award. That's a jump of one spot from last year, when both were in the 94^th percentile.
 
Leading that group of 43 are Bentley University of Massachusetts and Saint Michael's College of Vermont, both in the 99^th percentile.
 
The only other West Region school in the top 10 is Biola of the Pacific West Conference, which tied for the third-highest ASR at 98 percent.
 
Along with Seattle Pacific, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference was represented by Western Washington, which had an ASR of 92, and Saint Martin's at 90.
 
Elsewhere from the West Region, Dominican University was at 94 and Point Loma Nazarene at 93.
 
Joining SPU, Bentley, Saint Michael's and Rockhurst in receiving the award for the 11^th time in 11 years are Assumption College, Eckerd College, Hillsdale College, Rollins College, Stonehill College, and University of the Sciences.