Fall UMAC Academic All-Conference awards hit another new peak
ST. PAUL -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released its Fall 2009 academic all-conference award lists on Wednesday. In all, a record-355 student-athletes from 13 institutions received recognition for an award that has the following academic requirements:
1. Post a 3.50 or better semester grade point average based on a 4.0 scale
2. Compete in the sport in which he or she is nominated in the season that corresponds with the selection
The total number of student-athletes who were named to their respective academic all-conference teams was significantly higher than the 235 that received the award a year ago. However, the UMAC welcomed four new schools to participate in the sport of football in 2009-10, which increased the overall number of recipients. The conference had 225 winners in the fall of 2007, 166 in 2006 and 176 in 2005.
The College of St. Scholastica boasted the highest number of academic all-conference award recipients with 70. Martin Luther College followed close behind with 62 honorees, while Northwestern College was third with 51 award-winners. Crown College (37) and the University of Minnesota, Morris (34) rounded out the conference’s top five institutions. All eight of the UMAC’s full-time member schools improved upon the number of individual fall award-winners from 2008.
With 68 recipients, the sport of football had the most individual academic all-conference awards. At 63 and 59 respectively, women’s soccer and women’s cross country took second and third places. Of the eight UMAC-sponsored fall sports, six had 45 or more individual accolades.
Click here to view the complete listing of 2009 individual academic all-conference award winners.
In the team competition, Martin Luther College and the College of St. Scholastica each claimed the best grade point averages (GPA) in two fall sports. The Knights from Martin Luther won the team competition in the sports of football and men’s soccer, while the St. Scholastica Saints had the highest team GPA in women’s soccer and volleyball.
UMAC-sponsored sports whose championship season is solely in the fall semester and their respective top academic teams are listed below.
| Sport |
School |
Team GPA |
| Football |
Martin Luther College |
2.988 |
| Men's Cross Country |
North Central University |
3.658 |
| Women's Cross Country |
Crown College |
3.690 |
| Men's Golf |
Northwestern College |
3.250 |
| Women's Golf |
Presentation College |
3.630 |
| Men's Soccer |
Martin Luther College |
3.235 |
| Women's Soccer |
College of St. Scholastica |
3.420 |
| Volleyball |
College of St. Scholastica |
3.520 |