MIAMI (October 10, 2016) – The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) honored the FIU men's soccer team with the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the 2015-16 academic year.
"I am extremely proud of the effort our team put into achieving this goal," said FIU Head Men's Soccer Coach
Scott Calabrese. "They deserve tremendous credit for raising their standards in the classroom last season."
A total of 893 soccer teams (314 men, 579 women) from throughout the United States earned the honor for exemplary performance in the classroom as a team during the 2015-16 academic year. FIU registered a team GPA of 3.09 to earn the national recognition.
The Team Academic Award was created to recognize student-athletes' commitment to excellence in the classroom. To be eligible for the College Team Academic Award, the nominated program must be a current member of NSCAA College Services. For a team to be considered for the NSCAA Team Academic Award, it must have a composite team grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for all team members who appear on the official NCAA, NAIA or junior college roster forms for the fall season.
Founded in 1941 and based in Kansas City, Missouri, the NSCAA has grown into the world's largest soccer coaches' organization that serves members at every level of the game.
The mission of the NSCAA is to develop and to deliver educational programming and events that inspire members to improve and to enhance their involvement in soccer. The NSCAA will activate a network of coaches, and others, involved in the sport who will take responsibility for advancing soccer in the greater community.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUMensSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUMensSoccer) for all the latest Men's Soccer news.
Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
