Eastern named to the WBCA Top 25 Honor Roll for the 10th time in school history

For the ninth-consecutive year, the Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team was rewarded for its superior work in the classroom, as the Eagles earned a spot on the 2010 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Honor Roll.

Head Coach Wendy Schuller’s team compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.33, which ranks 22nd among all Division I programs. Eastern is just one of two schools in the nation to be honored on this list for nine straight seasons. The Sycamores of Indiana State also made the list for the ninth year in a row, as it turned in a team GPA of 3.51 to claim the No. 4 spot.

“Congratulations to these teams who have excelled academically during the 2009-10 school year," WBCA CEO Beth Bass said.  “Each of these coaches set an extraordinary example for their peers to follow by holding academics in such high esteem with their student-athletes."

GPAs for the WBCA Honor Roll are calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by each student-athlete on an institution's roster in the given academic terms by the total number of hours earned by the team. A squad must have at least a 3.000 GPA to be considered.

Since the establishment of this award in 1996, the Eagles have been on the list in 10 of the 14 years, including seven top-five finishes. Eastern found themselves at the top of the list in 2004 with its nation-leading 3.63 GPA.

In addition to EWU, the Big Sky Conference landed two other schools on the 2010 honor roll. Northern Arizona claimed the No. 13 spot with a team GPA of 3.43, while Northern Colorado came in 18th with its 3.35 cumulative GPA. Utah Valley, who closed out the 2010 season on a high note as the Great West Tournament champions, was honored as the top academic team in the nation with a GPA of 3.63.

WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll for Division I: