America East Release
PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. – The University of Vermont, whose student-athletes maintained a 3.07 grade-point average, has been awarded the America East Academic Cup for the third consecutive season and becomes the first institution in conference history to win the award four times (1996, 2005, 2006, 2007).

For the first time in conference history two member institutions shared the America East Academic Cup. The Catamounts tied with Maine as both institutions saw their student-athletes maintain a 3.07 grade-point average.

“This is a very special honor for our student-athletes and university. It reflects a firm and ongoing commitment to the mission of the university and the values of educational sport," stated Vermont athletic director Dr. Robert Corran.

Binghamton University (3.06), Stony Brook University (3.03) and University of New Hampshire (3.03) were other institutions to compile grade-point averages of 3.00 or better in 2006-07.

Vermont fielded teams in 16 of the 22 sports sponsored by the conference during the 2006-07 academic year and saw 12 of those teams post grade-point averages of 3.0 or better. The Catamounts had a pair of sport leaders: men’s cross country (3.36) and women’s indoor track and field (3.26).

Vermont’s student-athletes are part of the more than 3,200 student-athletes who competed at nine America East institutions in the 2006-07 season. The conference’s student-athletes compiled a grade-point average of 3.01.

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 golf team (3.31), and UMBC women’s swimming and diving (3.40) were America East Championships, who also posted the highest grade-point average among the conference’s teams.

Other sport winners were: Baseball, Binghamton (3.05); women’s basketball, Maine (3.20); men’s cross country, Vermont (3.36); women’s cross 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 and Stony 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 track and 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 of Directors in 1995, is presented to the institution whose student-athletes post the highest grade-point averages during that academic year.

The student-athletes at the University of Vermont posted impressive numbers in the classroom for the spring semester of 2007. They combined to earn a 3.13 grade point average – marking the 10th consecutive semester the department has earned a 3.0 GPA or better.

A total of 13 of Vermont’s 17 teams earned team GPA’s of 3.0 or better in the spring. The women’s teams combined to post a 3.20 GPA. The men’s teams weren’t far behind, registering a 3.04 GPA. The men’s cross country team posted the best team GPA among all 17 teams at UVM with a 3.41 GPA, while the women’s cross country team led all women’s sports with a 3.40 mark.

A total of four Vermont student-athletes earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors and two went on to earn national academic all-America honors this season.