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For Immediate Release May 17, 2011

Northeast Conference Institutions Recognized For High Academic Achievement With NCAA Public Recognition Awards

Somerset, NJ - The NCAA has honored 38 Northeast Conference (NEC) teams from more than 900 across the nation with public recognition awards NCAA Public Recognition Award Winners for exceptional academic performance. The 38 teams represent 22 sports from 11 NEC institutions. These awards are given each year to teams scoring Baseball Women's Basketball in the top 10 percent in each sport with respect to their Academic Progress Women’s Cross Country Rates (APRs). Football Women’s Men’s Cross Country Women’s Indoor Track & Field Men’s Women’s Outdoor Track & Field The 38 Public Recognition awards doubled the NEC's total from a year ago. Men’s Men’s Tennis A total of four NEC teams hold the distinction of having earned Public Recog- Men’s Indoor Track & Field Women’s Golf nition Awards in each of the six years of the NCAA’s academic reform program: Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Monmouth women's golf and women's tennis, and Sacred Heart men's volley- Women’s Soccer Men’s Indoor Track & Field ball and women's rowing. Women’s Swimming Men's * Women’s Volleyball Women’s Cross Country There are also four national champions from the 2009-10 season included Women's Rowing* in this year’s award list, most notably the Fairleigh Dickinson women’s bowl- Fairleigh Dickinson University ing team. Women’s Bowling St. Francis (NY) College Women's Golf Men's Cross Country Women's Golf “The Northeast Conference’s commitment to academic success is clearly Women’s Tennis demonstrated by the outstanding accomplishments of these programs,” said Women’s Bowling Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. “We are incredibly proud of the aca- Women's Tennis Saint Francis (PA) University demic achievements of our student-athletes, and celebrate the dedication Men’s Tennis Women’s Golf our coaches and administrators continually place on the importance educa- Women's Golf* tion and learning.” Women's Tennis* Women’s Tennis Each year the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly rec- Mount St. Mary's University ognizing their latest multiyear APR. The announcement is part of the overall Baseball * Have earned Public Men’s Tennis Recognition Awards in Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that Women's Cross Country each of the last six years. demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student- athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports.

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Bryant University (2012-13) • Central State University • Fairleigh Dickinson University Long Island University • Monmouth University • Mount St. Mary’s University • Quinnipiac University Robert Morris University • Sacred Heart University • St. Francis (NY) College Saint Francis (PA) University • Wagner College The 909 teams publicly recognized this year for high achievement represent 14 percent of the 6,385 eligible Division I teams. The list includes 525 women’s teams and 384 men’s or mixed squads. A total of 239 institutions, out of 335 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list. Last year, 841 teams were recognized.

By measuring eligibility and retention each semester or quarter, the APR provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years.

Top-performing teams this year posted APR scores ranging from 977 to a perfect 1,000.

“Most student-athletes excel at balancing their academic and athletics commitments, yet each year there are those who perform at extraordi- nary levels,” said Mark Emmert, NCAA President. “By achieving the highest levels of academic success as a team, these young men and women truly embody what it means to be a successful NCAA student-athlete.”

Multiyear APRs for all Division I sports teams will be announced on May 24.

About The Northeast Conference Now celebrating its 30th Anniversary season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 12 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - (#1), (#23), (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 23 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. Bryant will become the NEC’s 12th member upon completion of the NCAA Division I reclassification process in 2012. For more information on the NEC, visit www.northeastconference.org.

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