For the third year in a row, the University of North Dakota has earned the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic Award, the league offices announced on Friday afternoon. North Dakota has won the award each year since joining the conference.“It is incredibly impressive the pride that our team takes in what they do in the classroom,” said Athletic Director Bill Chaves. “We want everyone to play as long as they can here and after UND, but also have an eye on what their life’s work will be after football concludes. These types of awards give us an indication that there will be many leaders in all facets of life graduating from this program.”In 2005, the MVFC introduced an All-Academic Award to recognize team academic achievement. This award is based on the average student-athlete grade-point average for the previous academic year. GPA calculations include all student-athletes who compete, practice or receive academic aid during the academic year.The Fighting Hawks paced the MVFC with a 3.459 grade point average, followed by Indiana State (3.304) and Youngstown State (3.207). UND’s grade point average of 3.459 is a new conference record, beating the previous best of 3.383 set by the Hawks in 2020-21. North Dakota has three of the top five team GPA’s all-time in the conference.Top-Five MVFC Team GPA’s All-Time
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1 |
North Dakota |
3.459 (2022-23) |
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2 |
North Dakota |
3.383 (2020-21) |
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3 |
Southern Illinois |
3.310 (2020-21) |
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4 |
Indiana State |
3.304 (2022-23) |
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5 |
North Dakota |
3.222 (2021-22) |
“It was great to receive the news from the MVFC that UND football has earned the All-Academic Award for the third consecutive year,” Coach Bubba Schweigert said. “Our players have put forth great effort to perform at a high academic level and take great pride in all aspects of their responsibilities. The guidance and support from our academic support staff, Kelsey Wattenhofer and Andres Freeman, is second to none!”The UND football program had 41 Fighting Hawks record a grade point average this past term of 3.5 or higher, with seven recording a perfect 4.0. This spring semester marked the 30th consecutive semester with an overall department GPA of 3.0 or better. The football team had 17 players on the UND President’s Honor Roll, while 25 players also represented the squad on the UND Dean’s List. Ten North Dakota student-athletes were named to the 2022 MVFC All-Academic Teams.
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(UND Athletics)