June 20, 2003
Belmont's Latest Athletic Triumphs Happen in Classrooms
University claims second straight Atlantic Sun academic trophy; bests NCAA Division 1 graduation rate
Belmont University's NCAA Division 1 athletics program continues to rack up impressive wins – in the classroom.
Belmont picked up its second consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference Academic Champion Trophy, and also bested its own record number of All-Academic honorees set last year. The academic honors continue an impressive record of academic performance for Belmont University since its athletics programs joined the NCAA Division 1 in September 1997.
In addition, Adam Mark of the Belmont Bruins men’s basketball team has been selected as the 2002-03 Atlantic Sun Conference Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
In winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Academic Champion Trophy, the Belmont Bruins boasted 69 percent of their student athletes (140 of -203) achieve a grade-point average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale during the past academic year. That's up from 65 percent in 2001-02.
"As the NCAA is moving toward reforms to toughen eligibility and accountability for its member schools' athletic programs, we're proud of the academic performance of Belmont's student-athletes," said Belmont University President Dr. Robert Fisher. "Our success involves not just a few individual student-athletes, but our entire athletic program - and we intend to make it a tradition."
"Academics are a lynch-pin of our program," stated Director of Athletics Mike Strickland. “It is important to everyone involved from Dr. Fisher down through our coaches and administrators to the student-athletes. We are proud to capture the trophy for the second straight year.”
Last September, the NCAA released data on graduation rates for student-athletes at its more than 300 Division 1 schools, and Belmont's graduation rate bested the average for all Division 1 schools by 2 percentage points. The 2002 report shows that 60 percent of all student-athletes who entered Division I colleges and universities in 1995-96 graduated within six years – by 2001. Graduating within six years is the measure used by the Department of Education for graduation success. At Belmont, 62 percent of students entering Belmont in 1995-96 graduated in six years. Belmont became an NCAA Division 1 member in September 1997, and became an A-Sun member in 2001.
The Bruins women's cross country team led the A-Sun with 11-of-12 runners earning All-Academic honors, while the men's tennis (5 of 6) and baseball (20 of 25) teams ranked at the top of their respective sports in All-Academic honorees.
Belmont had six student-athletes earn Verizon Academic All-District honors with Mark and men's soccer player Marcos Cabrera both earning Academic All-American status.
Mark, a junior from Bremen, Ind., earned first-team All-Atlantic Sun honors and led the nation in field goal percentage (.670) for the second consecutive season, becoming only the seventh player in NCAA history to accomplish that feat. His .635 career shooting percentage currently stands 19th in the NCAA career record book. He averaged a team-high 16.7 points per game and boasted a league-best four player-of-the-week selections this past season.
Mark earned first-team Verizon Academic All-American honors with his 3.94 GPA in computer science after being a second-team honoree in 2001-02. A co-captain during his junior campaign, Mark was also named A-Sun Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.Com.
“To me, this is one of the most important honors that I could receive,” said Mark. “Not only does it factor in what I’ve done on the basketball court, but it values academics and community service. I’m really excited to receive the award. It is just a tremendous honor.”
“There is not a better honor given by the Atlantic Sun than the Student-Athlete of the Year award in my opinion,” stated men's basketball head coach Rick Byrd. “All of us at Belmont are proud of his accomplishments and achievements."
Mark is the second consecutive Bruin and the second men’s basketball player to garner A-Sun Student-Athlete of the Year honors, following former teammate Wes Burtner who earned the award in 2001-02.
Voting on the annual honor is based on athletic, academic and community achievement and is done by the A-Sun Faculty Athletics Representatives. Candidates must be juniors or seniors and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20.
Belmont was honored by USA Today and the NCAA Foundation in 2001 for its top-10 student athletes graduation rate
- For more stories from the Student-Athletes Archive, click here.
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