Lewis Athletics
Luke Rinne, Director for Athletic Communications
ROMEOVILLE – The NCAA announced on Thursday afternoon that Lewis University was one of 32 schools to receive the Presidents’ Award For Academic Excellence. This award is presented to Division II member schools earning an Academic Success Rate (ASR) 90 percent or higher.
Lewis has a four-year ASR of 92 percent and is one of five schools in the Great Lakes Valley Conference to receive the award. The GLVC and the Northeast-10 conference led Division II’s 24 conferences in ASR rates, with five athletic programs posting scores of 90 percent or more.
“The 32 schools recognized with the Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence are dedicated to supporting the academic success of student-athletes,” said Gary Olson, president of Daemen and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. “What is even more remarkable, 11 of these schools have been recognized each year of this program. We commend the institutions for their commitment to academic excellence and dedication to preparing student-athletes for life after college.”
The Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes.
Unlike the federal rate, the Division II ASR includes nearly 34,000 nonscholarship student-athletes and accounts for those who transfer to a Division II school after initial enrollment elsewhere, while removing student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible. The national ASR for the four cohorts of student-athletes who entered college from 2009 to 2012 is 73 percent.
Division II student-athletes continue to graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. Even when using the less-inclusive federal graduation rate, the 2012 entering class of student-athletes graduated at a rate of 61 percent, compared with 52 percent for the general student body.
Schools receiving the Presidents’ Award are:
| School | Four-Year ASR | Conference |
| Bentley University | 99 | Northeast-10 Conference |
| Thomas Jefferson University | 98 | Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Saint Michael’s College | 97 | Northeast-10 Conference |
| Hillsdale College | 96 | Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| Point Loma Nazarene University | 96 | Pacific West Conference |
| Regis University (Colorado) | 96 | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
| University of Puerto Rico, Bayamon | 96 | Independent |
| Rollins College | 96 | Sunshine State Conference |
| Biola University | 96 | Pacific West Conference |
| Eckerd College | 95 | Sunshine State Conference |
| Stonehill College | 95 | Northeast-10 Conference |
| Dominican University of California | 95 | Pacific West Conference |
| University of the Sciences | 95 | Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference |
| Rockhurst University | 94 | Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Flagler College | 93 | Peach Belt Conference |
| Seattle Pacific University | 93 | Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Davenport University | 93 | Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
| Cedarville University | 93 | Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| University of California, San Diego | 93 | California Collegiate Athletic Association |
| Lewis University | 92 | Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Assumption College | 92 | Northeast-10 Conference |
| Barry University | 92 | Sunshine State Conference |
| Concordia University, St. Paul | 91 | Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
| St. Edward’s University | 91 | Lone Star Conference |
| University of Indianapolis | 91 | Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Trevecca Nazarene University | 91 | Great Midwest Athletic Conference |
| St. Thomas Aquinas College | 90 | East Coast Conference |
| Le Moyne College | 90 | Northeast-10 Conference |
| Bellarmine University | 90 | Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Mercyhurst University | 90 | Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference |
| William Jewell College | 90 | Great Lakes Valley Conference |
| Florida Southern College | 90 | Sunshine State Conference |