Maine Earns 2007 America East Academic Cup
SECOND TIME IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS THE BLACK BEARS EARN THE PRESTIGIOUS ACADEMIC HONOR
PORT JEFFERSON, NY - The America East conference honored its top team and individual accomplishments Tuesday night at the conference'sannual awards dinner at Port Jefferson Country Club. For the first time inconference history two member institutions shared the America East AcademicCup. Maine and Vermont saw their student-athletes maintain a 3.07 grade-pointaverage. Vermont, which also won the Academic Cup in 1996, 2005 and 2006, isthe first institution to win it four times. Maine earned its second cup.
The Black Bears had 11 of 16 teams with a GPA of 3.0 orbetter. Maine boasted the top GPA in three sports: women's basketball (3.20),field hockey (3.38) and men's swimming (3.09). Vermont fielded teams in 16 ofthe 22 sports sponsored by the conference and saw 12 of those teams postgrade-point averages of 3.0 or better. The Catamounts had a pair of sportleaders: Men's cross country (3.36) and women's indoor track and field (3.26).
"This is a tremendous honor for the University of Maine," said Maine Director of Athletics Blake James. "Our student-athletes havedone an excellent job in the classroom this past year and this recognition fortheir efforts is well deserved. I would like to thank our coaches who emphasizethe importance academics plays in our student-athletes lives. Our AcademicSupport staff, Ann Maxim, Cristina Kerluke and Myer Taksel, are a key factor inachieving this success. In addition, Dr. George Jacobson, who serves as thefaculty representative for athletics, has provided guidance in the academicareas. The Academic Cup is truly a symbol of the excellent student-athletes wehave here at Maine."
Maine and Vermont's student-athletes are part of themore than 3,200 student-athletes who competed at nine America East institutionsin the 2006-07 season. The conference's student-athletes compiled a grade-pointaverage of 3.01. Binghamton University (3.06), Stony Brook University (3.03)and University of New Hampshire (3.03) were other institutions to compilegrade-point averages of 3.00 or better in 2006-07.
Albany men's basketball (2.88) and volleyball (3.30),Binghamton men's soccer (3.21), Hartford women's soccer (3.26) and men's golfteam (3.31), and UMBC women's swimming and diving (3.40) were America EastChampionships, who also posted the highest grade-point average among theconference's teams. Other sport winners were: Baseball, Binghamton (3.05);women's basketball, Maine (3.20); men's cross country, Vermont (3.36); women'scross country, Stony Brook (3.68); field hockey, Maine (3.38); women's golf,Hartford (3.25); men's lacrosse, Binghamton (2.98); women's lacrosse, Albany(3.34); softball, Stony Brook (3.32); men's swimming and diving, Maine andStony Brook (3.09); men's tennis, Stony Brook (3.28); women's tennis, Albany(3.72); men's indoor track and field, Stony Brook (3.13); women's indoor trackand field, Vermont (3.26); men's outdoor track and field, Stony Brook (3.13);and women's outdoor track and field, Stony Brook, (3.27).
The Academic Cup, established by the America East Board ofDirectors in 1995, is presented to the institution whose student-athletes postthe highest grade point averages during that academic year. The grade pointaverages of all student-athletes who compete in the 22 championship sportssponsored by America East are averaged to determine the winner.
