ATLANTA - With a cumulative team grade-point average of 3.764, the Fort Hays State women's basketball team is ranked third on the 2020-21 WBCA Division II Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll, released Tuesday (July 13) by the coaches association. It is both the highest ranking ever achieved by the team in the 26-year history of the poll and the highest team GPA since at least 2001.
It was the 10th time the Tigers have been listed in the Academic Top 25 under head coach Tony Hobson and the third time FHSU has been in the top 10. The Tigers have been listed in the Academic Top 25 11 times since 2001.
The Tigers were one of just three schools ranked in the top 25 in both the final WBCA DII national coaches poll and the academic team honor roll (Lubbock Christian, Nebraska-Kearney).
Fort Hays State is one of just two MIAA programs ranked in this year's Academic Top 25, and the only team in the top five. The Tigers have been the top-ranked conference school three of the last four years. Eleven Tigers were listed on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll this season, with Cydney Bergmann and Whitney Randall earning the MIAA Academic Excellence Award and Bergmann, Randall and Olivia Hollenbeck all receiving the MIAA Scholar-Athlete Award.
The WBCA Academic Top 25 annually recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III; NAIA; and junior/community college women's basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined grade point average (GPA) inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. Several teams that would have qualified for the top 25 in their respective divisions are not eligible to be ranked because they did not compete athletically during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are recognized as special mentions.
Fort Hays State's historical rankings in the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll and the complete 2020-21 Top 25 can be found below.
FHSU in the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor RollYearRankGPA
20-21 3rd3.764
18-196th3.708
17-1813th3.667
16-1713th3.624
15-1622nd3.559
14-1523rd3.536
12-1314th3.50011-12
4th3.62810-11
12th3.52309-10
T14th3.47302-03
16th3.4442020-21
WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll Rank Institution GPA
1Lubbock Christian University3.783
2Ursuline College3.780
3Fort Hays State University3.764
4Minnesota State University Moorhead3.750
5William Jewell College3.748
T6Mercyhurst University3.721
T6Tiffin University3.721
T6Southwest Minnesota State University3.721
9Lindenwood University3.718
10Trevecca Nazarene University3.711
11University of Montevallo3.710
12Minnesota State University, Mankato3.688
T13Saginaw Valley State University3.684
T13University of Colorado Colorado Springs3.684
15Davenport University3.681
16University of Mary3.673
17Chadron State College3.662
18Western Colorado University3.660
19Winona State University3.657
20University of Nebraska Kearney3.656
21Truman State University3.650
22Northwood University3.647
23Kentucky Wesleyan College3.646
24Miles College3.639
25University of Findlay3.637
Special Mention: Kutztown University, 3.852; Seton Hill, 3.857; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.), 3.815; Pace University, 3.764; East Stroudsburg University, 3.743; Eckerd College, 3.694; Southern New Hampshire University, 3.692; Michigan Technological University, 3.685; University of the Sciences, 3.667.