USF Athletics
Joe Gorby, Director of Athletic Communications

NEW ORLEANS – The nationally-ranked University of St. Francis women’s track and field team not only earned distinction in competition this 2020 season, but also in the classroom as the Saints were honored as a 2020 NAIA Women’s Track & Field All-Academic Team per a release issued Thursday (July 16) by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

USF, who were among 57 different programs to be recognized for their academic excellence in the 2020 season, posted a 3.41 team cumulative grade point average.  Huntington (Ind.) was tabbed as the  2020 NAIA Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Scholar Team of the Year to go with their 2020 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championship title.  The highest-placing team from the NAIA Indoor Championships which earns All-Academic honors is declared the Scholar Team of the Year for that particular season.

The Saints, under head coach Jeff Barker, captured the program’s first-ever Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championship title at the 2020 conference meet (Feb. 21-22) in Davenport, Iowa.  USF, which completed its indoor season ranked tied for 10th nationally with a 23-points total in the final 2020 NAIA Rankings (March 7), scored a 10th-place tying 23 points at the 2020 NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships (March 5-7) in Brookings, S.D.

The criteria for being named to the NAIA Track and Field All-Academic Team are as follows:

The cumulative GPA for all student-athletes on the institution’s eligibility certificate for Indoor and/or Outdoor Track and Field must be 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, including the most recent grading period, certifiable by either Faculty Rep or Compliance Coordinator or Registrar’s Office.

• The cumulative GPA of all student-athletes on the institution’s eligibility certificate for Indoor and/or Outdoor Track and Field must be computed by the following method:

1. Total the cumulative number of semester hours or quarter hours earned for all student-athletes on the eligibility certificate including the most recent grading period;
2. Total the cumulative number of quality points earned by all student-athletes, including the most recent grading period;
3. Divide the cumulative number of quality points earned by the cumulative number of semester or quarter hours earned.
4. Institutions utilizing a different GPA scale than 4.0 then must convert the GPA to a 4.0 scale using the standard conversion method [GPA/Scale x 4.0].