INDIANAPOLIS – The already-elite group of schools that have a perfect record for winning the NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence got a little more elite this year.
 
And Seattle Pacific is still part of that group.
 
For the 12th consecutive year, SPU has been earned the nationally recognized NCAA honor for classroom success. It remains one of just eight schools to be included on the list all 12 years the award has been presented.

Last December, 10 schools were on the list for having received the award every year.

The Presidents' 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 92 percent. As defined by the award's eligibility standards, that means 92 percent of all Falcon student-athletes from the 2012-15 cohort graduated within six years of initial enrollment.

 "We are extremely proud of this current group of student-athletes, who are continuing a proud history of academic success at Seattle Pacific," interim athletic director Dan Lepse said. "Year-in and year-out, these fantastic Falcons thrive in the classroom while also excelling in their athletic endeavors."
 
School athletic departments that achieve a four-year academic success rate of 90 percent or higher earn the Presidents' Award.
 
Along with Seattle Pacific, others receiving their 12th consecutive award are Assumption College (Massachusetts), Bentley University (Massachusetts), Eckerd College (Florida), Hillsdale College (Michigan), Rockhurst University (Missouri), Rollins University (Florida), and Saint Michael's College (Vermont).

 

"While a prestigious honor like the Presidents' Award is designed to recognize our student-athletes, it is also a tribute to the faculty, staff and coaches at SPU who made their academic performances possible," Lepse said.
 
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 is one of six schools in the 92nd percentile among the 44 that received the award. Of those 44, three were in the 99th percentile: Bentley, Biola, and Saint Michael's. Bentley and Saint Michael's were in the 99^th last year, as well.

Joining Seattle Pacific on the list from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference is Western Washington, one of three schools in the 91st percentile.
 
Along with SPU, Western, and Biola, other award recipients from the West Region are Dominican University (94th percentile) and Point Loma Nazarene (91st), both from the Pacific West Conference.