ST. PAUL – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) set a record for fall semester academic all-conference awards on Wednesday with 360 students earning a 3.5 or better grade point average (GPA) in their respective semester of competition. That number of 360, produced by 13 member institutions, represents the fourth consecutive year that the UMAC has shattered the 300 mark, which includes the Fall 2011 number of 326. The Fall 2012 award list beat the previous record of 359, which came in 2010. The league has distributed 350 or more academic all-conference certificates in three of the last four years.
For the fourth season in a row, the College of St. Scholastica boasted the highest number of UMAC fall individual achievements as the Saints led all schools with 80 awards in the fall of 2012. Martin Luther College, which claimed six of the seven UMAC Team Academic All-Conference awards, followed with 66 individual accolades. Northwestern College (43) and the University of Minnesota Morris (41) rounded out the league’s top four institutions.
Football held on to the top spot for having the most academic all-conference awards, claiming 104 of the 360 certificates. Women’s soccer was next, taking second with 63 awards – eight ahead of the 55 accolades that women’s cross country claimed. Volleyball was close behind with its 52 honorees.
Click here to view the full listing of UMAC Individual Academic All-Conference award winners.
As previously mentioned, Martin Luther had a strong showing in the team competition with six awards (women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, men's soccer, women’s soccer, volleyball). Northwestern claimed the men’s cross country academic race.
UMAC-sponsored sports whose championship season takes place solely in the fall semester and their respective top academic teams are listed below.
|
Sport |
School |
Team GPA |
|
Men's Cross Country |
Northwestern College |
3.510 |
|
Women's Cross Country |
Martin Luther College |
3.664 |
|
Football |
Martin Luther College |
2.985 |
|
Men's Golf |
Martin Luther College |
3.162 |
|
Men's Soccer |
Martin Luther College |
3.129 |
|
Women's Soccer |
Martin Luther College |
3.521 |
|
Volleyball |
Martin Luther College |
3.420 |