The NCAA Division II Presidents Council announced that Biola University earned a Presidents’ Award For Academic Excellence for the second-straight year on Thursday. Biola was one of 42 institutions to earn the award this year and had the best Academic Success Rate (96 percent) among the five West Region schools listed.
Biola, Point Loma, and Dominican are the only three PacWest schools to earn this distinction, which is awarded annually to athletic departments who have attained an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90 percent or higher. The Eagles also had the fifth-highest ASR nationally, accounting for a four-spot improvement compared to last year.
The Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial college enrollment and includes virtually all NCAA Division II student-athletes.
“The Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence recognizes Division II member schools for their commitment to a balanced college experience that supports the academic success of college athletes,” said Sandra Jordan, chancellor of the University of South Carolina Aiken and chair of the Division II President’s Council. “Ten more institutions earned this award than last year, setting an all-time high for this program, but most importantly, this means college athletes at these schools are achieving academic success that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.”
Eleven of Biola’s 16 varsity programs recorded an ASR of 100 percent. These include men and women’s swim & dive, men and women’s tennis, men and women’s cross country and track & field, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, and volleyball.
“It is so good to be a part of a university where academics is taken seriously by our student-athletes and athletics is supported by our faculty,” said Dr. Dave Talley, Professor of Old Testament and Biola’s Faculty Athletics Representative. “It takes all of us to be a winning combination…and we are! Congratulations to our student-athletes for finishing with 96 Academic Success Rate. We are proud of each of you as you represent our university. And we also extend a big thanks to our faculty for working with our student-athletes’ often demanding schedules! You are greatly appreciated. Biola University is making its mark on NCAA Division II.”
Click here to see the full list of institutions that earned the award.
This article was originally published on December 3rd on the Biola Athletics website and includes additional material from an article entitled “Eagles at the Top Academically” published on November 18th.
Source: Biola University