The Big Green women's basketball team was recently named a part of the 2007-08 Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll for NCAA Division I. This honor is given every season to the 25 programs with the highest cumulative team grade point averages.
"This is certainly a great honor for our team," Betsy Williams '10 said. "It was not a specific goal to win this award but we have always taken great pride in our academics. Being named to the Academic Top 25 is a reflection of the strong work ethic our team has both on and off the court."
This award rounds out a stellar season for the Dartmouth women's team, which brought home its 16th Ivy League Championship and made its fourth straight postseason appearance last season.
Dartmouth finished its 2007-08 season with an overall record of 15 wins and 16 losses, but went 11-3 in the Ivy League, with its only losses coming to Harvard, Columbia and Cornell.
The Big Green women's basketball team had a cumulative grade point average of 3.31 for the 2007-08 season, which placed them 21st overall in the NCAA Division I rankings. Dartmouth was also the highest-ranked Ivy League institution. Columbia was the only other Ivy to make the list, ranking 25th overall.
"As a team we know that excelling academically is our number one priority," Margaret Smith '10 said. "Although we also have athletic goals and aspirations, we understand that we cannot meet those goals without first taking care of the little things, such as going to class or completing assignments on time."
On the Dartmouth Sports web site, head coach Chris Wielgus credited the Dartmouth environment in helping his team remain committed on and off the court.
"The academically supportive environment at Dartmouth creates expectations of excellence in the classroom and on the court and our team continues to rise to the challenge in both forums," Wielgus said. "There is a long-standing tradition of success before them and this team only builds upon that. I am most proud of our student-athletes for matching their championship-winning effort on the court with an Academic Top-25 group effort in the classroom."
This is the second time in three seasons that the Big Green women's team has made the Academic Top 25. In the 2005-06 season, Dartmouth ranked 18th nationally with a team GPA of 3.323, also under the guidance of Wielgus.
"Our coaches play major roles in our academic success as well because they emphasize the importance of academics," Smith said. "Our season practice schedule is planned around our classes, and not vice versa, which distinguishes us from many Division I sports teams."
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits were ranked first in the WBCA Academic Top 25 for the third consecutive year, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.669. The Jackrabbits also claim the highest GPA among all collegiate women's basketball programs in all divisions across the country.
South Dakota State University finished its season with 23 wins and seven losses, also posting an impressive 16-2 conference record.
Kansas State University ranked second in the 2007-08 standings, with Indiana State University rounding out the top three.
While each team on the list had an academically rewarding season, few teams can match the Big Green's success both on and off the court. The Big Green is one of only seven squads in the Academic Top 25 to have made a postseason appearance, and just one of three teams to win a conference title in 2008.
The women's basketball team received additional academic honors when senior co-captains Kristen Craft '08 and Sydney Scott '08 were named Academic All-Ivy following the 2007-08 season. Scott also received the WBCA Stoner Law Scholarship, which is presented annually to one female collegiate basketball player who intends to pursue a career in law.
The WBCA was founded in 1981, and according to its mission statement, aims to "promote women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as a sport for women and girls."
"I would like to say congratulations to each and every one of these teams for producing some impressive cumulative grade point averages," WBCA CEO Beth Bass said. "These numbers would be notable for one student-athlete alone, but for an entire team to compile overall GPAs such as this is truly remarkable. I tip my hat to these programs and wish continued success both on and off the court."
