ATLANTA - The Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) announced their 2017-18 NAIA Academic Top-25 Team Honor Roll on Tuesday (July 31), and the Mid-America Christian University Evangels were one of two teams from the Sooner Athletic Conference to make the list.
MACU placed 17th on the list, earning a place on the list for the first time since joining the NAIA. The WBCA Academic Top-25 Honor Roll recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III; NAIA and junior/community college women's basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2017-18 season is the 23rd in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.
"I'm so proud of our team for what they accomplished in the classroom last year," said head coach Hannah Moeller. "MACU, as an institution, is fully committed to surrounding our students with a support system that allows them to be successful in the classroom. I am thankful for all of the individuals who go the extra mile to see our student-athletes achieve great things."
MACU posted a team GPA of 3.469 according to the WBCA release, slotting them just behind the only other SAC team on the list - John Brown University - in 17th place. MACU ranked fifth on the list of teams competing in NAIA Division I for basketball, trailing only Shawnee State University (Ohio; 9th overall), Montana State-Northern (13th), the University of Pikeville (Ky.; 15th), and JBU (16th) among NAIA-I teams.
Full WBCA Academic Top-25 Team Honor Rolls
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit www.WBCA.org for more details about the Association.
