IRVINE, Calif. – The Pacific West Conference announced Dominican athletics as its recipient of the 2017-18 PacWest Academic Achievement Award on Monday.
This is the second year in a row and the eighth time in the Penguin's nine years as a member of the PacWest they have won the award, as they finished the year with a 3.421 grade-point average among all student-athletes.
"I want to congratulate our wonderful student-athletes," athletic director
Amy Henkelman said. "Winning eight times in nine years is a huge accomplishment that they should all be very proud of. Academics is part of Dominican, the PacWest, and NCAA Division II's mission and values, and our student-athletes nailed it! I am also tremendously proud of the leadership of our coaches and staff, and the guidance and mentorship they provide to the young men and women we serve."
Dominican's 3.42 GPA is the third-best in conference history. It marks the fifth-consecutive year that the top school eclipsed a 3.4 GPA. Dominican surpassed the 3.4 mark in 2015-16 as well, but narrowly missed winning the award despite its 3.41 program GPA.
"Congratulations to Dominican University for winning the PacWest Academic Achievement Award and continuing a legacy of strong academic performance by student-athletes at the institution," PacWest Commissioner Bob Hogue said. "To win eight PacWest Academic Achievement Awards in nine years is a tribute to the student-athletes and athletic department at Dominican."
The PacWest tied the GPA record set last year with a combined 3.17 among its 14 members. The conference has improved its record GPA in each of the last five years. Eleven schools had a GPA above 3.0 and six improved upon their marks from last year. Point Loma finished in second place with a 3.395 GPA, which was a school record for the Sea Lions. Chaminade also set a school record with a 3.28 GPA to finish third among PacWest schools. Dixie State and Azusa Pacific also set department records and finished above the conferencewide average.
"The continual growth of academic success around the conference is a credit to all of the student-athletes at the 14 schools," Hogue said. "This sets the bar even higher for the years to come as these academic institutions prepare these athletes for life after sports. Congratulations to all the schools who had a banner year in the classroom."
| PACWEST ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD |
| 2007-08 |
Notre Dame de Namur |
3.36 |
| 2008-09 |
BYU-Hawaii |
3.15 |
| 2009-10 |
Dominican |
3.21 |
| 2010-11 |
Dominican |
3.25 |
| 2011-12 |
Dominican
Grand Canyon |
3.26 |
| 2012-13 |
Dominican |
3.34 |
| 2013-14 |
Dominican |
3.41 |
| 2014-15 |
Dominican |
3.40 |
| 2015-16 |
BYU-Hawaii |
3.44 |
| 2016-17 |
Dominican |
3.44 |
| 2017-18 |
Dominican |
3.42 |
