Men's & Women's Soccer recognized for academics

[asu66]

From GoBlueRidge.net
Written by Ben Winterrowd

Friday, 22 November 2013 12:13

Both of Appalachian State University’s soccer programs finished in exclusive company after the conclusion of the 2012-13 academic year, as announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).


A total of 863 soccer teams that includes 270 men’s programs and 593 women’s programs posted team grade point averages of 3.0 or higher during the 2012-13 academic year. Of that initial total, only 185 schools had both their men’s and women’s programs recognized, putting the Mountaineers in elite company.


Sarah Strickland’s women’s team posted a cumulative team G.P.A. of 3.48 and Matt Nelson’s men’s squad posted a cumulative of 3.24 to put the Mountaineers as one of the 185 schools in the nation to achieve the feat.


“Appalachian State University athletics strongly supports the academic mission of the student-athlete and sets it as a major priority and one of its strong points in the expectation of the department,” said Strickland. “The Learning Assistance Program (LAP) for Appalachian State is superior to all and puts the student-athlete in the best situation possible to be successful with academic services and tutoring. We highly stress the importance of being a student before being a student-athlete we’re very proud to receive this recognition.”


“It’s great that our players get rewarded for the amount of hard work they put in off the field as well,” Nelson. “They are consistantly one of the top male academic programs on campus and in the country. Its great for them to get recognized academically.”