Bridgewater, NJ – The Northeast Conference has announced its annual Institutional and Team GPA Awards, recognizing academic excellence across the league. Mercyhurst made a splash by earning a conference-record 3.536 cumulative GPA across 18 varsity sports for the 2024–25 academic year.
In historic fashion, Mercyhurst, in its inaugural year as a member of both the NEC and NCAA Division I, has claimed the 2024–25 NEC Institutional GPA Award, surpassing the previous conference record of 3.489 set by LIU in 2019–20 with an impressive 3.536 GPA. This put the Lakers' comfortability ahead of the runner up – Wagner who finished with a 3.384 GPA.
"While I was cautiously optimistic that we would be competitive in our first year as a reclassifying Division I institution, I had no doubt that our student-athletes would continue the tradition of academic success that defines Mercyhurst." said Joe Spano, Mercyhurst Director of Athletics. "Setting a new conference GPA record is a tribute to our outstanding faculty, our dedicated academic support team, and most notably, to our incredible student-athletes and the coaches who care deeply about their academic achievement and personal growth. This recognition reflects the core values of our university and the commitment we all share to excellence in the classroom and beyond. What makes this achievement so special is to be part of a conference that places such a high value on academic success. We thank the NEC staff and our peer institutions for their support this first year and for recognizing the academic achievements of all our NEC athletes."
The NEC also recognized the teams with the highest GPA in each respective sport, with five Mercyhurst programs earning top academic honors. Leading the way was the Mercyhurst Women's Cross Country team, which posted a conference-best 3.811 GPA—the highest among all NEC sports. The remaining team GPA award winners are as follows: Mercyhurst Men's Basketball (3.608), Mercyhurst Women's Basketball (3.645), Mercyhurst Softball (3.673), and Mercyhurst Football (3.100).
"Mercyhurst has a long history of academic excellence at the Division II level, and this achievement at the Division I level affirms that we were more than ready for the transition," said University President, Kathleen Getz. "It's a powerful reminder that at Mercyhurst, academics is the most important thing we do - and we won't compromise that commitment as we move forward."
Following Mercyhurst's inaugural Division I season, all 18 teams competing in the Northeast Conference maintained at least a GPA of 3.0, with nine programs posting a GPA of 3.5 or above.
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 44th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#8). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#87). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.
