BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The academic accolades of Western Washington University student-athletes continue to pile up as WWU Department of Athletics was recognized as one of 43 NCAA Division II programs to earn the prestigious NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence.
WWU's 15 varsity intercollegiate sports programs recorded a school-record 92% Academic Success Rate to earn the award for the fourth time in the last five years. Western was one of 43 NCAA Division II schools across the nation to earn the award for recording an ASR of 90% or higher, and one of only four public institutions. WWU also earned the award in 2017, 2018 and 2020, and fell one percent short in 2019.
"This is an elite list to be on and an amazing award for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and University to celebrate for being recognized four of the last five years," said WWU Director of Athletics
Steve Card. "As proud as we are of all the success the Vikings have had in competition, these are the awards we are most proud of as it shows the dedication and hard work our student-athletes put into every facet of their experience at Western."
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. This year's ASR and FGR tracks student-athletes who entered college in the 2014-15 academic year. The FGR tracks the six-year graduation rate of freshmen who received athletic aid in a four-year cohort from 2011 to 2014, as prescribed by the U.S. Department of Education. Standing alone, the freshman class of 2013-14 had an 87 percent FGR.
Using the federal rate criteria, the four-year cohort of Viking student-athletes entering from 2011 to 2014 graduated at a 85 percent rate, compared to 68 percent for the full set of freshmen entering WWU in that period. Across NCAA Division II, student-athletes are also performing better than the general student body, with that same four-year cohort of student-athletes graduating at 60 percent, compared to 53 percent for all students who entered NCAA II institutions as freshmen in 2014-15.
"It is an honor recognizing 43 schools for this prestigious award," said Steven Shirley, president of Minot State and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "I applaud these schools and student-athletes for their hard work, commitment and dedication to achieving academic excellence."
WWU was joined by Great Northwest Athletic Conference member schools Seattle Pacific University and Saint Martin's University as 2021 NCAA Presidents' Award Winners for Academic Excellence.
NCAA PRESIDENTS' AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Here is the list of NCAA Division II member schools that earned the NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence in 2021. In addition to WWU, public schools that are part of this list of 43 schools include Michigan Tech, Truman State and Georgia College. The remaining 39 are all private institutions.
| School |
ASR |
Conference |
| Bentley University |
99% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Saint Michael's College |
99% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Biola University |
98% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Hillsdale College |
98% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| Thomas Jefferson University |
98% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Davenport University |
96% |
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Le Moyne College |
96% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Rollins College |
96% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Rockhurst University |
95% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Seattle Pacific University |
95% |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Dominican University of California |
94% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Eckerd College |
94% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis |
94% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Saint Anselm College |
94% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Cedarville University |
93% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| Georgia College |
93% |
Peach Belt Conference |
| Michigan Technological University |
93% |
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Point Loma Nazarene University |
93% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Trevecca Nazarene University |
93% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| University of the Sciences |
93% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Adelphi University |
92% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Barry University |
92% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Davis & Elkins College |
92% |
Mountain East Conference |
| Mercyhurst University |
92% |
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference |
| Regis University (Colorado) |
92% |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
| Stonehill College |
92% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Truman State University |
92% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Western Washington University |
92% |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Assumption University |
91% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Caldwell University |
91% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Colorado Christian University |
91% |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
| Flagler College |
91% |
Peach Belt Conference |
| Florida Southern College |
91% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Holy Family University |
91% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Lewis University |
91% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Southern Wesleyan University |
91% |
Conference Carolinas |
| St. Edward's University |
91% |
Lone Star Conference |
| William Jewell College |
91% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Concordia University, St. Paul |
90% |
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
| Converse College |
90% |
Conference Carolinas |
| Saint Martin's University |
90% |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Southern New Hampshire University |
90% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| St. Thomas Aquinas College |
90% |
East Coast Conference |
ABOUT WWU ATHLETICS
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 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. WWU Athletics has finished in the top 50 in the NCAA II Learfield Directors' Cup standings in 15 of the past 16 years, and in the top 20 in eight of the last 12 years (no award in 2019-20 or 2020-21). 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 at 90% in four of the last five years, earning the NCAA's President's Award for Academic Excellence four times. The 2021-22 athletics season is off to a strong start with volleyball advancing to the Final Four for the third time in the last six seasons and the women's soccer team playing in its sixth consecutive West Regional Final (Sweet 16), with both teams earning top-10 final national rankings.
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS
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 and Facebook at @WWUAthletics.
