By: Austin Arquette and Brendan Sanders
Being a student-athlete is among the toughest jobs for a young man or woman can do, and doing both successfully is an even bigger accomplishment.
That’s what makes the 67 Ferris State athletes who are achieving the Academic Achievement Awards so impressive. The 13th annual Academic Achievement Awards was awarded August 27th to many athletes across the Division II level. This award was created by the Division II Athletic Directors Association (D2ADA).
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. In addition, 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 and been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year.
Over 15,300 student-athletes were recognized with this award across 201 collegiate institutions that were eligible for recognition. This year represented an all-time high for students being recognized for this achievement. The GLIAC had 616 representatives total among seven schools.
“In a year when we can use all of the good news, the D2 ADA Officers and Board of Directors are proud to recognize the highest number of student-athletes with the Academic Achievement Award than ever before,” D2ADA President JR Smith said in a D2ADA press release. “The nominations also came from a record number of institutions, showcasing the passion and dedication of our Association and Division II as a whole.”
Of the 67 Ferris State athletes that were recognized, the women’s soccer team had the most people recognized at 14 athletes, making up nearly 21% of all the Ferris athletes recognized.
Men and Women’s Cross Country combined for 10 athletes. Men and Women’s basketball combined for five athletes. Football had four athletes. Women’s golf had three athletes. Track and Field had 15 athletes from both men and women. Softball had six athletes. Tennis had four athletes. Volleyball had five athletes.
Approximately 52 of the athletes came from the female sports’ teams while the male sports’ teams had 15.