Monday, July 10, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s newest program is the top academic program in the league.

Concordia is the winner of the GNAC’s 2016-17 Academic All-Sports Championship. In its second year as a full member of the league, the Cavaliers compiled a total of 180 points in the annual survey of cumulative grade point averages for each school’s GNAC program. Northwest Nazarene, last year’s academic all-sports champion, finished second with 172 points while Seattle Pacific was third with 146 points.

The Cavaliers saw all six of its men’s teams and four of its women’s programs finish in the top-three in their respective sports. Concordia had the top GPAs in men’s cross country (3.41) and softball (3.35) and were second in three other sports.

Concordia also collected the men’s academic all-sports championship with a total of 84 points. Seattle Pacific finished second with 72 points and Saint Martin’s placed third with 68 points. Northwest Nazarene won its second straight women’s all-sports championship with 104 points. Concordia was second with 96 points and Western Oregon finished third with 84 points.

Seattle Pacific had the top GPA in three sports, the most of any GNAC school. The Falcons soared to the top in men’s basketball (3.43) for the eighth consecutive year, men’s soccer (3.30) for the ninth consecutive year and men’s track and field (3.31) for the 11th time in conference history. Northwest Nazarene led GNAC teams in women’s soccer (3.65) and women’s track and field (3.52).

The top GPAs in the GNAC came from golf. Saint Martin’s men’s golf team led the men’s teams with a 3.55 GPA and marked the sixth consecutive year that SMU has led men’s golf programs. Montana State Billings women’s golf led all GNAC teams with a 3.74 GPA. It is the third consecutive year that MSUB has led women’s golf.

Saint Martin’s also led the GNAC in volleyball (3.53) while Montana State Billings had the top GPA in baseball (3.38) for the fifth consecutive year.

Alaska Anchorage’s women’s cross country team (3.57) and Azusa Pacific’s football team (2.89) were the only teams to win a conference championship and lead the league academically. Western Oregon led women’s basketball teams for the third consecutive year with a 3.53 GPA.

Ninety-eight of the conference’s 122 teams (80.3 percent) posted cumulative GPAs of 3.00 or better, including all 11 programs in women’s basketball and women’s cross country and all 10 programs in women’s track and field. All but four of the GNAC’s 66 women’s programs (93.9 percent) finished with a 3.00 GPA or better. Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific joined Concordia in seeing all of its programs finished with GPAs of 3.00 or better.

The academic all-sports standings are based on the cumulative grade point average averages of all of the athletes on the official team rosters, including redshirts. Points are awarded on two-point increments.

GNAC 2016-17 ACADEMIC ALL-SPORTS STANDINGS
Overall (Top 5): 1, Concordia 180. 2, Northwest Nazarene, 172. 3, Seattle Pacific 146. 4, Saint Martin’s 138. 5, Western Oregon 128.
Men (Top 5): 1, Concordia 84. 2, Seattle Pacific 72. 3, Northwest Nazarene 68. 4, Saint Martin’s 60. 5, Montana State Billings 59.
Women (Top 5): 1, Northwest Nazarene 104. 2, Concordia 96. 3, Western Oregon 83. 4, Saint Martin’s 78. 5, Seattle Pacific 74.

MEN’S TOP-THREE TEAMS BY SPORT
Baseball: 1, Montana State Billings 3.38. 2, Northwest Nazarene 3.06. 3, Concordia 3.01.
Basketball: 1, Seattle Pacific 3.43. 2, Concordia 3.23. 3, Alaska Anchorage, Saint Martin’s & Western Washington, 3.10.
Cross Country: 1, Concordia 3.41. 2, Western Oregon 3.34. 3, Saint Martin’s 3.29.
Football: 1, Azusa Pacific 2.89. 2, Central Washington 2.78. 3, Western Oregon 2.69.
Golf: 1, Saint Martin’s 3.55. 2, Northwest Nazarene 3.20. 3, Concordia 3.18.
Soccer: 1, Seattle Pacific 3.30. 2, Saint Martin’s 3.24. 3, Concordia 3.15.
Track and Field: 1, Seattle Pacific 3.31. 2, Northwest Nazarene 3.18. 3, Concordia 3.16.

WOMEN TOP-THREE TEAMS BY SPORT
Basketball: 1, Western Oregon 3.53. 2, Montana State Billings 3.52. 3, Northwest Nazarene 3.46.
Cross Country: 1, Alaska Anchorage 3.57. 2, Concordia 3.56. 3, Seattle Pacific 3.55.
Golf: 1, Montana State Billings 3.74. 2, Western Washington 3.46. 3, Saint Martin’s 3.41.
Soccer: 1, Northwest Nazarene 3.65. 2, Western Oregon 3.57. 3, Seattle Pacific 3.48.
Softball: 1, Concordia 3.35. 2, Saint Martin’s 3.34. 3, Northwest Nazarene 3.29.
Track and Field: 1, Northwest Nazarene 3.52. 2, Alaska Anchorage 3.51. 3, Concordia 3.42.
Volleyball: 1, Saint Martin’s 3.53. 2, Central Washington 3.45. 3, Concordia 3.43.