Friday, February 28, 2003

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Feb. 28, 2003) - East Tennessee State University track athletes Cheryl Howard (Sugar Run, Pa) and Jennifer Habbestad (Tampa, Fla.) were named to the TIAA-CREF Academic All-Southern Conference teams for winter 2003. A total of 77 student-athletes, representing all 12 Southern Conference institutions, were named to the team. Howard is majoring in elementary education and boasts a 3.454 grade point average, while Habbestad is a criminal justice major with 3.571 GPA. The 77 student-athletes averaged a 3.565 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and have competed in at least one-half of their team's competitions during the winter. This is the first time that the Southern Conference has named an All-Academic Team by season. This new honor is made possible by a grant from the Southern Conference's Education Partner, TIAA-CREF. TIAA-CREF is the premier retirement system for the education and research sector in the U.S., serving 2.5 million participants at 15,000 institutions. The TIAA-CREF group also manages 13 state-sponsored college savings programs, more than any other company.