CLEVELAND - The Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) announced the 2020-21 recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards. The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 14^th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level. The Golden Eagles saw 260 athletes earn the award the most in Division II.

In total, there were a record breaking 16,262 student-athletes from 188 institutions recognized for the 2020-21 Academic Achievement Awards. This is the most student-athletes being recognized since the inception of the award's program. For the third consecutive year, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) has the largest number of student-athlete honorees with 1,466 total, closely followed by the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) with 1,216 and Northeast 10 Conference (NE10) with 1,181. In addition, we would also like to recognize two additional conferences who finished in the top five; the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) with 1,133 and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) with 1,118, respectively.

"It is incredible to think that our athletes excelled in the classroom despite having to deal with the many stressors associated with COVID-19. To see once again that a record-breaking number of students are recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award is simply astonishing," said Dr. Bren Stevens, Vice President for Athletics at the University of Charleston and current D2 ADA President. "I am extraordinarily impressed by the efforts of our member institutions to ensure that they provide special recognitions for their respective athletes, as they are certainly deserving."

Independently, the Mountain East Conference's (MEC) University of Charleston led the way with 260 honorees, followed closely by Mercyhurst University of the PSAC with 221 award winners. University of Indianapolis of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) finished third with 215 recipients and another GLVC representative Lindenwood University came in fourth overall with 197. Rounding out the top-five was the PSAC's Seton Hill University with 186 nominees.

In order for a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletics director of the Division II institution MUST BE a CURRENT dues-paying member of the D2 ADA.