Four Pioneers earn NJCAA Academic honors

June 24, 2015

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The NJCAA national office announced the recipients of the 2014-15 NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards Wednesday. This year saw a record 1,936 student-athletes from 324 NJCAA member colleges earn national academic honors. 

Spartanburg Methodist College had four student-athletes earn Academic awards for the 2014-15 school year. Courtney Tutterow (Women's Soccer) and Ian Clevenger (Wrestling) earned the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence (4.0 GPA), which is the highest academic award handed out by the NJCAA. Guillermo Arce-Ruiz (Men's Soccer) earned the Superior Academic Achievment Award (3.80-3.99 GPA). Jack Alexander (Men's Golf) was awarded the Exemplary Academic Achievement Award (3.60-3.79 GPA). 

CLICK HERE for a complete listing of the 2014-15 NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Award winners.

During the 2014-15 academic year, the NJCAA saw 58,531 student-athletes compete on 3,461 teams in 28 different sports. A record 3.31 percent of individuals competing in the association qualified for an academic award which is only available to student-athletes that have accumulated at least 45 semester credit hours or 60 quarter credit hours with a minimum of a 3.60 grade-point average.

Below is a listing of the three NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards with the qualifying grade-point average for each honor:

Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence: 4.00 GPA
Superior Academic Achievement Award: 3.80-3.99 GPA
Exemplary Academic Achievement Award: 3.60-3.79 GPA

The Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence was presented to a record 185 student-athletes that earned a 4.0 grade-point average. There were 741 qualifiers for the Superior Academic Achievement Award, while 1,110 individuals claimed the Exemplary Academic Achievement Award.

Coffeyville (Kan.) claimed the most accolades with 35 student-athletes gaining recognition – including four individuals earning the Pinnacle Award, 12 claiming the Superior and 19 taking the Exemplary honor.

Four programs tied for the most Pinnacle Award recipients as Fort Scott (Kan.), Hesston (Kan.), Itawamba (Miss.) and Waubonsee (Ill.) each had five student-athletes record a 4.0 grade-point average.


About the NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards
Formerly known as NJCAA Academic All-America honors, the NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards program has annually recognized the academic success of the association's student-athletes since the program's inception in 1983. Nominations are submitted by each student-athlete's respective institution.