NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence Recipients announced
On and off the playing field, the Hillsdale College athletic department continues to be at the forefront of achievement at the NCAA Division II level, and continues to be recognized as such.
Last week, just before Christmas, the NCAA announced its list of Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence recipients, and for the 12th straight year, Hillsdale College was one of 44 Division II institutions to make the cut.
The NCAA hands out the Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence annually, recognizing athletic departments for maintaining an Academic Success Rate of 90% or higher. Not only is Hillsdale one of just eight athletic departments across the country at the NCAA DII level to receive the honor all 12 times it's been awarded by the NCAA, it did so this year by once again posting one of the top ASR percentages in the nation.
For the fifth straight year, Hillsdale finished in the top five among all 311 Division II schools across the country in ASR, which measures the percentage of student-athletes from an institution who either graduate within six years of initial college enrollment or who leave the athletic department on track to graduate and in good academic standing.
The Chargers posted an ASR of 98% in 2022-23, matching its total from 2021-22. That mark was the fourth-best in the country among NCAA Division II schools, just one percentage point behind Bentley University, Biola University and Saint Michael's College at 99%. Hillsdale was the highest achieving school in terms of ASR in the Midwest Region, and tops among the three Great Midwest Athletic Conference members who made the cut, ahead of Trevecca Nazarene (97%) and Cedarville (94%) who were also in the top 10 nationally.
"I am excited to honor and recognize the 44 schools for this prestigious award," said Steven Shirley, president of Minot State and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "It is a testament to their hard work, commitment and dedication to achieving academic excellence."
The 44 Division II rmember schools to earn the Presidents' Award are an all-time record for the 12-year program, surpassing last year's high-water mark of 43.
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 nonscholarship 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%.