Youngstown State, Green Bay Recognized in WBCA Honor Roll
YSU's Women's Basketball Team Posts Nation's Third-Best GPA in 2015-16
The Youngstown State women's basketball team posted the third-best grade-point average in the country during the 2015-16 academic year and appears on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 for the fifth time in the last six years.
The Penguins posted a team GPA of 3.639 during the academic year, which trailed only St. Francis (N.Y.) and South Dakota at the Division I level. The third-place ranking is the best in school history, topping sixth place in 2011-12, 17th in both 2010-11 and 2012-13 and 22nd last year.
Youngstown State is one of just eight programs to appear in the WBCA Academic Top 25 in five of the last six years. Among that group, only YSU and DePaul have played in a postseason tournament in each of the past two seasons.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of this group for excelling like they have in the classroom," head coach John Barnes said. "To be able to play in the postseason in each of the past two years and still have one of the top GPA's in the nation is a huge testament to the type of student-athletes we have. I want to give a big thanks to our academic advisers, professors, coaching staff and players for all of the hard work they have put in to help us with this achievement. It's a fantastic honor and definitely something to be celebrated."
Youngstown State joins fellow Horizon League member Green Bay (13th), on the prestigious academic top 25 list, and Bowling Green was the only other school in Ohio.
"Congratulations to each of the teams recognized in the 2015-16 WBCA Academic Top 25," said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. "Their head coaches are to be commended for fostering an environment of excellence for their student-athletes both on the court and, more importantly, in the classroom."
All 12 members of the team had a GPA of at least a 3.4 in the fall semester, and each Penguin achieved at least a 3.1 in the spring. Melinda Trimmer and Jill Blacksten both had a 4.0 in both semesters.
On the court, Youngstown State posted a 21-13 record for its third 20-win season in the last four years. The Penguins also qualified for the WBI postseason tournament and advanced to the semifinals.
Women's Basketball Ranks 13th on WBCA Honor Roll
After another successful year in the classroom, the Green Bay women’s basketball program made its 12th appearance on the WBCA Honor Roll. The Phoenix women combined for a 3.515 team grade-point average for the 2015-16 season, ranking 13th overall.
Green Bay is one of four top-25 teams on the Division I honor roll who played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. This marks the second-straight season that the Phoenix received the honor from the WBCA. Green Bay was one of two Horizon League women's basketball programs represented in the top 25 with Youngstown State finishing 3rd.
“Congratulations to each of the teams recognized in the 2015-16 WBCA Academic Top 25,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “Their head coaches are to be commended for fostering an environment of excellence for their student-athletes both on the court and, more importantly, in the classroom."
The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III; NAIA and junior/community college women’s basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2015-16 season is the 21st in which the WBCA as compiled the honor rolls.
A team’s GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by the total number of hours attempted by all team members in the academic terms (semesters or quarters) that the season spans. Weighted grades are converted to a 4.0 scale. The GPA’s are rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point. Teams are nominated for the honor by a WBCA-member head coach. A team must have a 3.000 or better GPA to be nominated.
