Wednesday, January 23, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (January 25, 2008) - The ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics released on Friday that 55 percent of its eligible student-athletes earned Atlantic Sun All-Academic status for the 2007 Fall semester which is up from 45 percent last season.

To be named A-Sun All-Academic, a student-athlete must achieve a 3.0 or higher in the classroom during their semester of competition. The sports sponsored by conference members are cross-country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis, golf, softball, baseball, indoor and outdoor track & field

Additionally, the cumulative GPA of ETSU student athletes is also up to 3.08 this year from 2.92 last fall. The women's soccer team led the way for ETSU with 68 percent followed closely by the women's cross country team with 67 percent.

In addition to A-Sun All-Academic numbers the Bucs also had 129 student-athletes make the Buc Honor Roll, 35 student-athletes on the Dean's List and nine in the 4.0 Club.

"This level of improvement in our student-athletes' academics is indicative of their high levels of commitment and hard work in and outside of the classroom," said Director of Academic Services Bob Baker. "It is also a demonstration of their abilities to balance their educational and sport demands. It is intrinsically rewarding for the academic staff to see the student-athletes rewarded for all their hard work."

The 12-member league headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Florida Gulf Coast, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF, USC Upstate and Stetson.