The Southeast Missouri State Women’s Soccer team received a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award for the 2013-2014 school year.
With an overall GPA of 3.72, the team was ranked with the second-best GPA in NCAA Division 1 and tied for the third-highest total out of 1,182 NCAA and NAIA women’s soccer programs eligible for the award.
“To be honored as national academic finalists at the Division 1 level is an outstanding accomplishment,” head coach Heather Nelson said. “As a team, we came one step closer to our goal of becoming Academic National Champions, and I’m confident this achievement will continue to light a fire in all of us.”
The Redhawks were beaten for first place by just one-hundredth of a point behind Belmont University with the highest GPA in NCAA Division 1 at 3.73.
“They’re student athletes and we know that them being the best students that they can be is their top priority,” Nelson said. “As much as we always have competitive goals on the field, our main goal is that they graduate and that they become future professionals and they give back to their communities.”
Nelson said the team put more emphasis on academic excellence several years ago when they ranked in the top 40. After making Academic National Champions a goal, the team climbed from top 40 to top five in just five years.
This year’s number two ranking is the highest in program history which topped last year's third place finish.
“Our young ladies truly represent our core value of academic excellence by producing these extraordinary results in the classroom,” Director of Athletics Mark Alnutt said.
Nelson believes credit is due to the academic programs at the university itself and is one of the main reasons the soccer team has been able to achieve such academic excellence.
“The learning environment at Southeast Missouri State has continued to be very intimate and more professors take a lot of pride in their students in the classroom and want to see them go on and excel in their professional careers,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the team will continue to work toward maintaining superior academic status and becoming the team with the highest GPA in the nation in the years to come.