UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – 150 SVSU student-athletes were recently honored at the fifth annual Student-Athlete Academic Honors Banquet that took place on February 24, 2013.  The event, which was sponsored by State Farm Insurance, recognized those student-athletes having earned a 3.4 GPA or better during the 2012 Fall and Winter semesters.

Over 300 student-athletes, coaches, university staff and guests were in attendance at the banquet, which saw SVSU women’s soccer alumnus Kim Oberski (’09) serve as the event’s keynote speaker.  In addition to the All-Academic certificates that were handed out, several new recognitions were added to this year’s program in order to appropriately recognize the academic achievements of SVSU student-athletes. 

One new award, dubbed the Elite 17 Award, honors the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA within each of SVSU’s 17 athletics programs.  Click here to see the list of 2012-13 Elite 17 Award recipients. 

Also instituted into the honors banquet program are the Men’s & Women’s Team GPA Awards.  These awards are given to the men’s and women’s athletics team with the highest average GPA among its members.  Receiving these awards for 2012-13 were the men’s and women’s cross country teams, who hold impressive team GPAs of 3.240 and 3.503 respectively.

The final award presentation of the afternoon saw Lauren Hill of the women’s cross country and track & field team and football student-athlete Zach Cecich being honored with the George Eastland GPA Awards.  These awards, which are named after SVSU Faculty Athletic Representative George Eastland, are distributed to the male and female student-athletes with the highest cumulative GPA who are utilizing or have utilized their final year of athletics eligibility.  Hill, 2012 cross country All-American and 2012 USTFCCCA Division II All-Academic honoree, will be graduating this May with a bachelor of science degree in exercise science.  She currently owns a 3.841 GPA.  Cecich, who was also recognized as a 2012 Academic All-American, graduated in December with a bachelor of business administration degree in management.  He leaves SVSU with a highly decorated football career and an impressive 3.970 GPA.

The Student-Athlete Academic Honors Banquet marks the largest annual recognition event for SVSU Athletics.  Contributions made by State Farm Insurance positively impacts the experience afforded to Cardinal student-athletes in the form of academic support and recognition initiatives throughout the year.  This partnership, currently in its fifth year, plays a significant role in assisting the athletic department achieve its number one goal of ensuring the graduation and retention of SVSU student-athletes.