BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the second consecutive year, Western Washington University Athletics has been recognized not only for their success in competition, but also for its excellence in the classroom.

 

The Vikings were one of just 27 NCAA Division II schools to earn the Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence, awarded to schools having an Academic Success Rate of 90 percent or higher in the latest NCAA Graduation Rate report released in October. 

 

Western was one of just two public schools of the 27 that received the Presidents' Award, the other being UC San Diego. Overall, 48 percent of NCAA Division II schools are public institutions.

 

The Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships. WWU checked in for the second consecutive year with an ASR of 90 percent.

 

"While we are very proud of all of the accomplishments by our programs in competition, earning an award like this is a tremendous honor and makes us proud to have our student-athletes and coaches representing Western Washington University," said WWU Director of Athletics Steve Card. "To be able to balance the academic rigors of WWU along with being a high-level student-athlete, and achieving this level of success speaks volumes on the quality of our programs, and the coaches and student-athletes that work so hard to be the very best at everything they do, both on the field and in the classroom."

 

The Division II ASR also captures about 48 percent more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate. Unlike the federal rate, the ASR counts non-scholarship student-athletes and those who transfer to a school after initial enrollment elsewhere, while removing student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible. The national ASR for the four cohorts of student-athletes who entered college from 2008 to 2011 is 73 percent, up 1 point from the previous four-year cohort (2007-10).

 

Using the federal rate criteria, the four-year cohort of Viking student-athletes entering from 2008 to 2011 graduated at a 72 percent rate, compared to 70 percent for the full set of freshmen entering WWU in that period. Across Division II, student-athletes are also performing better than the general student body, with that same four-year cohort of student-athletes graduating at 56 percent, compared to 49 percent for all students at NCAA II institutions.

 

"The schools we recognize with the Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence demonstrate a firm commitment to support the academic success of student-athletes," said Glen Jones, president of Henderson State and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "We commend them for their ongoing efforts to provide student-athletes with the opportunity to excel in the classroom, on the field and for life."

 

Division II student-athletes continue to graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. The federal rate for the 2011 entering class of student-athletes increased 1 point to 57 percent, compared with 50 percent for the general student body.

 

The Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence - presented to Division II member schools earning an Academic Success Rate of 90 percent or higher - will go to 27 schools in the eighth year of the program:

 

 

Western Washington University is a four-year public institution located in Bellingham, Washington, featuring over 300 student-athletes that compete for 15 intercollegiate athletic teams at the NCAA Division II level and primarily in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. WWU Athletics has finished in the top 50 in the NCAA II Learfield Directors' Cup standings in 14 of the past 15 years, and in the top 20 in eight of the last 11 years. WWU's programs have won 11 team national championships, most recently the 2016 women's soccer team and the 2017 women's rowing team. Outside of competition. WWU's student-athletes have compiled an academic success rate at 90%, earning the NCAA's President's Award for Academic Excellence each of the last two years. During the recently-completed 2017-18 sports season, 9 of 15 programs had representation at the NCAA Championships, 75 student-athletes earned GNAC Academic All-Star status, 27 received all-region honors and 9 were named All-Americans. The 2018-19 athletics season is off to a tremendous start with all eight programs that competed during the fall earning national rankings, including the volleyball team advancing to the national championship game, the cross country teams both competed in the NCAA II Championships and the women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA II West Regional for the fourth consecutive season.

 

For more information on WWU's 15 varsity sports programs, visit WWUVikings.com. Fans and alumni can also track all the teams via social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat at @WWUAthletics.

 

-- @WWUAthletics --