INDIANAPOLIS – Call it the Elite Eight for classroom success.
 
Once again, Seattle Pacific is one of those eight,
 
For the 13th year in a row, SPU has been announced as a winner of the NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence.
 
It is just one of eight schools in Division II to win the award all 13 years that it has been presented. This year, a total of 44 schools were on the prestigious list..
 
The award recognizes a four-year academic success rate (ASR) of 90 percent or higher.
  
Through the most recent four-year period, Seattle Pacific's ASR was 94 percent, which is two percentage points higher than last year. As defined by the award's eligibility standards, that means 94 percent of all Falcon student-athletes from the 2013-16 cohort graduated within six years of initial enrollment.
 
 

"We are extremely proud of our recent student-athlete graduates, who continued a long legacy of receiving the President's Award for Academic Excellence," Athletic Director Dan Lepse said. "Those Falcons performed well in the competitive arena, but our ultimate goal for them is to graduate after getting a great education. They have done that at an impressive rate. Seattle Pacific student-athletes have excelled academically as well as any of their national peers over the last 13 years."
 
Along with SPU, others receiving the award for the 13th consecutive year 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).
 
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 nine schools in the 94th percentile among the 44 that received the award. Of those 44, two were in the 99th percentile: Bentley and Saint Michael's. This is the third year in a row they have been at 99. Biola of the Pacific West Conference is in the 98th percentile.

Joining Seattle Pacific on the list from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference are Saint Martin's and Western Washington. WWU is in the 91st percentile; Saint Martin's is in the 90th.
 
Other award recipients from the West Region are Dominican University (94th percentile) and Point Loma Nazarene (92nd), both from the Pacific West Conference.
 
"Congratulations to the 44 schools who have earned this prestigious award," said Steven Shirley, president of Minot State and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "It takes a collective effort from the student-athletes, coaches, university and athletic administrators to earn an Academic Success Rate of 90% or higher, and I'm very excited to recognize these schools."

 

Institution	Conference	Four-Year ASR
Adelphi University	Northeast-10 Conference	91%
Assumption University	Northeast-10 Conference	91%
Augustana University (South Dakota)	Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference	91%
Barry University	Sunshine State Conference	92%
Bentley University	Northeast-10 Conference	99%
Biola University	Pacific West Conference	98%
Caldwell University	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	94%
Cedarville University	Great Midwest Athletic Conference	95%
Chestnut Hill College	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	90%
Colorado Christian University	Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	91%
Colorado School of Mines	Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	91%
Concordia University, St. Paul	Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference	93%
Davis & Elkins College	Mountain East Conference	91%
Dominican University of California	Pacific West Conference	94%
D'Youville University	East Coast Conference	98%
Eckerd College	Sunshine State Conference	92%
Emory & Henry College	South Atlantic Conference	94%
Flagler College	Peach Belt Conference	91%
Florida Institute of Technology	Sunshine State Conference	92%
Florida Southern College	Sunshine State Conference	92%
Georgia College	Peach Belt Conference	94%
Goldey-Beacom College	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	91%
Hillsdale College	Great Midwest Athletic Conference	98%
Holy Family University	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	93%
Lewis University	Great Lakes Valley Conference	93%
Maryville University of Saint Louis	Great Lakes Valley Conference	90%
Mercy University	East Coast Conference	94%
Michigan Technological University	Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	94%
Molloy University	East Coast Conference	90%
Pace University	Northeast-10 Conference	90%
Point Loma Nazarene University	Pacific West Conference	92%
Rockhurst University	Great Lakes Valley Conference	94%
Rollins College	Sunshine State Conference	96%
Saint Anselm College	Northeast-10 Conference	92%
Saint Martin's University	Great Northwest Athletic Conference	90%
Saint Michael's College	Northeast-10 Conference	99%
Seattle Pacific University	Great Northwest Athletic Conference	94%
Southern New Hampshire University	Northeast-10 Conference	91%
St. Edward's University	Lone Star Conference	90%
Thomas Jefferson University	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	98%
Trevecca Nazarene University	Great Midwest Athletic Conference	94%
Truman State University	Great Lakes Valley Conference	91%
University of Minnesota, Crookston	Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference	90%
Western Washington University	Great Northwest Athletic Conference	91%