The University of New Hampshire has won the America East Academic Cup for the second consecutive year and fourth time overall, with UNH student-athletes compiling a conference-best 3.23 grade-point average (GPA) during the 2015-16 academic year.
For the second year in a row, the UNH men's indoor track and field team recorded the highest team GPA (3.23) in that sport. The women's soccer team's GPA (3.51) was the best in the conference.
The Academic Cup, established by the America East board of directors in 1995, is presented to the institution whose student-athletes record the highest GPA during that academic year. The UNH Wildcats won the academic cup in the 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2014-15 academic years as well.
Following UNH in the America East Academic Cup standings were Binghamton University and University of Hartford, who tied for second at 3.21, University of Vermont (3.17), University of Maine (3.16), University at Albany (3.15), University of Massachusetts Lowell (3.14); Stony Brook University (3.09) and University of Maryland Baltimore County (3.03).
Also of note for the 2015-16 academic year, four UNH student-athletes were named America East Presidential Scholar-Athletes in June. That honor goes to graduating seniors who complete their undergraduate degrees with a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher.
In addition, the 'Cats — who boasted two conference titlists in fall 2015 with both women's cross country and volleyball winning their third consecutive championships — placed the highest number of student-athletes on the America East fall honor roll for the seventh consecutive fall semester.
Laura Rose Donegan '16 of Melbourne, Australia, was named the 2015 Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year and also received the women's cross country NCAA Elite 90 and America East Elite 18 awards. Elinor Purrier '18 of Montgomery, Vermont, received the conference's Elite 18 award for women's outdoor track and field.
