JONESBORO, Ark. (11/1/12) – The Arkansas State University men's and women's cross country teams have not only attained a high level of success in competition, but more importantly in the classroom as the 2011-12 squads recently received the Sun Belt Conference's (SBC) Team Academic Award in their respective sport.

Both 2011-12 A-State men's and women's squad were recognized for their academic excellence during last Friday's (Oct. 26) 2012 Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships Banquet, which was held in Bowling Green, Ky.  The women posted a 3.62 team grade point average (gpa) while the men registered a 3.24 team gpa for the 2011-12 academic year.

“I'm very proud of our men's and women's cross country teams both receiving team gpa awards,” said ASU coach Jim Patchell.  “These young men and women are a true representation of what it means to be a student-athlete as indicated by their performance on the track and trails as well as in the classroom.” 

The Sun Belt Conference Academic Team Award recipients were determined though the results of quality points earned by all members of each team.  The points were then added up and divided by the number of individuals associated with their particular team.  The “true” gpa is then compared to all other SBC teams in order to determine the men' s and women's squads with the highest team average.

“I highly value the efforts of our cross country student-athletes in doing well in the classroom,” said Red Wolves' coach Kyle Chandler, who is also a full-time professor at ASU.  “It's great to have both teams win awards for the highest team GPA's among the Sun Belt Conference schools.  This year's conference academic award shows a continuance of our program's commitment to the classroom and provides a firm foundation upon which the cross country student-athletes can build as they depart A-State into the workforce.”

The A-State cross country program is certainly no stranger to performing at a high academic level as the 2010 women's team boasted the nation's second-highest gpa at 3.70 while also earning U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I All-Academic Team accolades.