Women’s Basketball Ranks in Top 10 Nationally in GPA

For the second year in a row, Leatherneck Basketball honored by the WBCA

ATLANTA, Ga. – For the second year in a row, the Western Illinois women's basketball program was honored by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for its academic success during the 2014-15 year.

The Fighting Leathernecks tied for 10th nationally among NCAA Division I programs with a team 3.53 GPA in the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls, presented by AT&T.

"I'm really proud of our team for earning the 10th-best GPA in the nation. This recognition shows the type of work our players put in off the court. It also reveals what type of young people we are recruiting for our program," said head coach JD Gravina, who led the Leathernecks to a 17-13 record last year and tied for third in the Summit League at 9-7. "These student-athletes led us to the most wins we've had in almost a decade, while achieving a 3.53 GPA in the classroom."

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. Teams are nominated for the honor by a WBCA-member head coach. A team must have a 3.00 or better GPA to be nominated.

Western turned in the top team GPA among all Summit League programs nominated to the WBCA, and ranked as one of two programs representing the league among the 'Top 25'. Last season's 3.53 GPA was slightly lower than the previous year's mark of 3.607 that placed Western fifth nationally.

According to interim athletic director Matt Tanney, "The WBCA award recognizes the commitment of our women's basketball program to success in and out of the classroom, and affirms our student-athletes' dedication to academic excellence at the institution."

"The WBCA applauds these teams for their commitment to academic excellence during the 2014-15 school year," said Danielle Donehew. "The student-athlete experience is an exciting and challenging time period and we appreciate these programs for setting an academic standard that other teams can strive to achieve. We value the hard work and dedication the players and coaches have put forth to thrive in the classroom and on the basketball court."

"We applaud these young women for delivering on the court and in the classroom," said Ryan Luckey, AVP, AT&T Corporate Sponsorships. "They set a tremendous example for all student-athletes."

Rank	Institution	2014-15 Head Coach	Team GPA
1	University of Missouri-Kansas City	Marsha Frese	3.726
2	St. Francis College**	John Thurson	3.656
3	DePaul University**	Doug Bruno	3.622
4	Drake University	Jennie Baranczyk	3.599
5	Bowling Green State University	Jennifer Roos	3.594
6	Saint Louis University	Lisa Stone	3.564
7	Arizona State University**	Charli Turner Thorne	3.558
8	Eastern Washington University	Wendy Schuller	3.554
9	Florida Gulf Coast University**	Karl Smesko	3.552
T10	Western Illinois University	JD Gravina	3.530
T10	University of Wisconsin-Green Bay**	Kevin Borseth	3.530
12	University of Northern Iowa	Tanya Warren	3.519
13	University of North Dakota	J. Travis Brewster	3.517
14	Jacksonville State University	Rick Pietri	3.511
15	Belmont University	Cameron Newbauer	3.501
16	Northwestern State University**	Brooke Stoehr	3.461
17	Houston Baptist University	Donna Finnie	3.445
18	University of Toledo	Tricia Cullop	3.443
19	Northern Illinois University	Kathi Bennett	3.438
20	University of Northern Colorado	Kamie Ethridge	3.431
21	South Dakota State University**	Aaron Johnston	3.427
22	Youngstown State University	John Barnes	3.422
23	St. Bonaventure University	Jim Crowley	3.406
24	University of Maine	Richard Barron	3.399
25	Lehigh University	Susan Troyan	3.396

About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association promotes 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 as a sport for women and girls. For more information on the WBCA, visit wbca.org.

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