July 29, 2020
FREELAND, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) has announced the 2019-20 MIAA Academic Honor Roll and the 2019-20 MIAA Team GPA Award. Trine University came in with highs in both awards.
The MIAA Team GPA Award is presented to member athletic teams that achieve a 3.3 or better GPA for an academic year. Trine finished with the top three highest team GPAs, each coming in above a 3.8. Women's cross country, women's tennis and women's basketball all finished the year with the achievement, with cross country coming in atop the MIAA with a 3.8420 GPA.
All told, 19 teams finished the year with the MIAA GPA award for Trine this year, shattering the previous university record of 12. The only other MIAA member to reach that total was Calvin University.
Eight Thunder teams joined the ranks since last year's edition of the award, including baseball, men's lacrosse, men's outdoor track & field, men's soccer, men's wrestling, softball, women's golf and women's lacrosse. For more information check out the MIAA's full release. For Thunder teams listed with their GPA, see the table below.
The Faculty Athletic Representatives, along with the governing bodies of the MIAA, agreed to a 3.4 grade-point average (GPA) for the 2019-2020 academic year; the award is normally given to student-athletes with a 3.5 GPA. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing member schools to turn to online learning, many members used a pass-fail grading system. Because there was not a second semester offered to many MIAA student-athletes to raise their GPA from the first semester, this compromise was agreed upon.
Trine posted a university record 263 student-athletes on the 2019-20 MIAA Academic Honor Roll. That tally was good enough to finish tied for first with Hope College for the highest number of honorees. To see how other schools in the MIAA did and for a complete list of those student-athletes who were honored, check out the MIAA's full release.
| 2019-20 MIAA Team GPA Award Recipients | |
| Team | GPA |
| Women's Cross Country | 3.8420 |
| Women's Basketball | 3.8320 |
| Women's Tennis | 3.8300 |
| Women's Soccer | 3.7200 |
| Women's Volleyball | 3.6640 |
| Women's Indoor Track & Field | 3.6150 |
| Women's Outdoor Track & Field | 3.6080 |
| Softball | 3.5660 |
| Men's Tennis | 3.5510 |
| Women's Lacrosse | 3.5170 |
| Men's Cross Country | 3.5040 |
| Men's Soccer | 3.4690 |
| Men's Outdoor Track & Field | 3.4180 |
| Men's Indoor Track & Field | 3.4120 |
| Men's Wrestling | 3.4080 |
| Women's Golf | 3.4060 |
| Baseball | 3.4020 |
| Men's Golf | 3.3530 |
| Men's Lacrosse | 3.3470 |
Low-income residents or those with disabilities or limited English proficiency can get their taxes prepared and filed electronically at no cost this spring through the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program hosted by Trine University.
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