FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCAA Presidents' Award Release

Five NE10 Schools Earn NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Success, Tied for the Highest Total of any Division II Conference. 

MANSFIELD, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference had five schools earn the NCAA's Presidents' Award for Academic Success by maintaining an Academic Success Rate of 90 percent or higher, as announced by the NCAA on Thursday afternoon. 

A perennial leader in Division II academic metrics, the NE10 was tied with the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) for the highest total of Presidents' Award honorees as each had five. The Award is presented to member schools earning an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90% or higher.  

Bentley led the entire nation with its ASR of 99 percent, while Saint Michael's was third nationally at 97 percent. Stonehill (95), Assumption (92) and Le Moyne (90) were the three remaining NE10 schools to earn the Presidents' Award. In total 32 schools from 15 conferences across the country were honored for their academic prowess. 

Earlier this month the NCAA announced that the NE10 had the highest ASR of any conference in the nation, with its mark of 88 percent. The 88 percent was also the highest ASR of any conference since the four-year calculation was measured beginning 11 years ago and far exceeding the DII national average of 73 percent. 

The NCAA annually releases the Division II ASR, a model developed 15 years ago at the request of presidents of Division II institutions to overcome inadequacies with the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR). The FGR only takes into account student-athletes that receive athletically related aid, leaving large numbers of DII student-athletes out of the calculation. Because of Division II's partial scholarship financial aid model, the ASR was created to include non-scholarship student-athletes who enrolled from 2009 through 2012, the four years covered in the most recent data. 

ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete. 

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.