KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 19, 2022)  – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team has been recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) as a recipient of the 10th annual Team Academic Excellence Award, the organization announced Tuesday.

Created by the NABC Committee on Academics, the Team Academic Excellence Award recognizes outstanding academic achievement by a team with a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better for the 2021-22 season. In order to earn a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, institutions in the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA must count the grade-point averages of all men's basketball student-athletes who competed during the 2021-22 season. The Ducks posted a 3.525 cumulative GPA in the fall and followed that with a 3.617 in the spring. The recognition marks the ninth overall, and sixth straight, award for the Ducks since the program began with the 2012-13 season.

Additionally, graduate students Alec DiPietrantonio, Matt LaCorte, David Dixon and Maguire Sweeney, along with juniors Andew Abujawdeh, Brett Bischoping, Conor Coffey and Matt Crowley, were named to the NABC's prestigious Honors Court, which recognizes the talents and gifts that men's basketball student-athletes possess off the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom. The Honors Court recognition is the third for both DiPietrantonio and Sweeney, while LaCorte, Dixon, Abujawdeh, Bischoping, Coffey and Crowley each earned the accolade for the first time.

"I'm really happy for this group to be honored for their academic accomplishments," head coach Bobby Hurley said. "They are true student-athletes who have worked very hard both in the classroom and on the court."

In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must meet a high standard of academic criteria. The qualifications are as follows:

• Academically a junior or senior and a varsity player. 
• Cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2021-22 academic year.
• Students must have matriculated at least one year at their current institution.
• Member of a NCAA Division I, II, III, or NAIA Division I or II institution with an NABC member coach

"Academic success is a core value of the NABC and a priority shared by men's basketball programs across the country," said NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson in the organization's official announcement. "Excellence in the classroom requires hard work and dedication and the NABC considers it a privilege to honor these deserving student-athletes and the coaches and staff who support them."

Over 2,000 players across all NCAA divisions earned spots on the NABC Honors Court and over 300 programs received NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards for 2021-22.

About the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)
Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. For additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, please visit www.nabc.org.

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