INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Mercyhurst University is among 44 Division II member schools to receive the Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The honor is awarded to Division II schools that have achieved a four-cohort (2012-15) Academic Success Rate of 90% or higher. The NCAA and the federal government measure time to graduate within a six-year window of first-time enrollment. Thus, the graduation rates for the 2012-2015 cohorts would have been reported from 2019 to 2022.
“I am excited to honor and recognize the 44 schools for this prestigious award,” said Steven Shirley, president of Minot State University and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. “It is a testament to their hard work, commitment and dedication to achieving academic excellence.”
A total of two Division II institutions to sponsor men’s and/or women’s water polo earned spots among the 44 recognized institutions as Biola University was also recognized.
The Division II ASR includes transfers into a school in the calculation and removes those who transferred out while academically eligible. The ASR also includes the more than 30,000 non-scholarship student-athletes who were enrolled in the four years covered in the most recent data.
Even when using the less-inclusive federal graduation rate, student-athletes are outperforming their peers in the general student population by 8 percentage points. For Division II student-athletes, the federal rate is 60%, while the general student body federal rate is 52%.
The schools receiving the 2022 Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence are:
|
School |
Four-Year ASR |
Conference |
| Bentley University |
99% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Biola University |
99% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Saint Michael’s College |
99% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Hillsdale College |
98% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| Thomas Jefferson University |
97% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Trevecca Nazarene University |
97% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| Le Moyne College |
95% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Rollins College |
95% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Caldwell University |
94% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Cedarville University |
94% |
Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| Dominican University of California |
94% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Georgia College |
94% |
Peach Belt Conference |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis |
94% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Michigan Technological University |
94% |
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Rockhurst University |
94% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Davenport University |
93% |
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Florida Southern College |
93% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Mercy College |
93% |
East Coast Conference |
| Adelphi University |
92% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Eckerd College |
92% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Holy Family University |
92% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Lewis University |
92% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Saint Anselm College |
92% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Seattle Pacific University |
92% |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Assumption University |
91% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Augustana University (South Dakota) |
91% |
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
| Barry University |
91% |
Sunshine State Conference |
| Chestnut Hill College |
91% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Concordia University, St. Paul |
91% |
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
| Converse University |
91% |
Conference Carolinas |
| D’Youville University |
91% |
East Coast Conference |
| Emory & Henry College |
91% |
South Atlantic Conference |
| Flagler College |
91% |
Peach Belt Conference |
| Point Loma Nazarene University |
91% |
Pacific West Conference |
| Southern New Hampshire University |
91% |
Northeast-10 Conference |
| Southern Wesleyan University |
91% |
Conference Carolinas |
| St. Thomas Aquinas College |
91% |
East Coast Conference |
| Truman State University |
91% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Western Washington University |
91% |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| William Jewell College |
91% |
Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Colorado Christian University |
90% |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
| Georgian Court University |
90% |
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Mercyhurst University |
90% |
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference/Collegiate Water Polo Association |
| St. Edward’s University |
90% |
Lone Star Conference |
