CLEVELAND – One hundred and twenty-eight Anderson University student-athletes representing 16 varsity sports have been named as recipients of the 2022-23 D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award, as announced by the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association (D2ADA) on Thursday.
Joining the Trojan student-athletes from the South Atlantic Conference were representatives from every member school in the league – Carson-Newman, Catawba, Coker, Emory &Henry, Lenoir-Rhyne, Limestone, Lincoln Memorial, Mars Hill, Newberry, Tusculum, UVA Wise and Wingate.
The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 16th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the NCAA Division II level.
In total, there were a record breaking 19,646 student-athletes from 196 institutions recognized for the 2022-23 Academic Achievement Awards. This is the most student-athletes being recognized since the inception of the awards program.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) has the largest number of student-athlete honorees with 1,923 total. The following conferences have more than 1,000 student-athletes being recognized:
• South Atlantic Conference – 1814
• Northeast 10 Conference – 1487
• Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference - 1413
• Conference Carolinas – 1286
• Great Midwest Athletic Conference – 1182
• Sunshine State Conference – 1075
• Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference - 1037
"This program continues to showcase the amazing student-athletes, and the impactful support of their coaches and staff, across our Division 2 landscape. I want to congratulate all the recipients for earning the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award," said Kirby Garry, director of athletics at Cal State Monterey Bay and current D2 ADA President. "While the number of deserving student-athletes continues to increase annually, the number of institutions recognizing these individuals on campus also continues to trend upwards. We look forward to eclipsing the 200-institution barrier next year."
In addition to the conferences, eight institutions will recognize more than 200 student-athletes with this recognition on their individual campus:
• Newberry College (SAC) - 273
• Walsh (GMAC) - 272
• Southern New Hampshire (Northeast-10) - 242
• Findlay (GMAC) – 236
• Lenoir-Rhyne (SAC) – 224
• Mercyhurst (PSAC) – 218
• Gannon (PSAC) – 213
• Florida Southern (SSC) - 208
Since the inception of the award's program in 2007-08, there has been a total of 147,622 student-athlete nominees recognized for their academic achievements at the Division II level.
In order for a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the Athletics Director of the Division II institution must be a current dues-paying member of the D2 ADA.
Also, the student-athlete must:
• have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
• have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work.
• have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year.
About D2 ADA: The D2 ADA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of Division II athletics directors. For more information about the D2 ADA, please visit www.div2ada.com. The D2 ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 59h year. For more information on NACDA and the 18 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
