Oakland University’s student-athletes are not only performing well on the court or the field, they are also doing so in the classroom. OU had a total of 103 student-athletes named to the 2007 Mid-Continent Conference Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence. The honorees were second-most among league members as Valparaiso edged the Oakland for first with 105 student-athletes on the list. In addition, the OU women’s basketball team earned a spot on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association 2006-07 Top 25 Team Honor Roll, the second straight year that OU has garnered the honor.

To be selected for the Mid-Continent Conference Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence, a student-athlete must achieve a 3.0 or higher cumulative grade point average, have a sophomore academic standing and be a letterwinner in the sport for which he/she is nominated. True freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for the award.

Oakland saw a significant rise in the number of student-athletes honored, as this year’s 103 representatives to the Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence is 35 more than last year’s 68 honorees.

OU’s women’s soccer and baseball teams tied for the most honorees as each team had 12 student-athletes named to the list. The number of honorees for the other Golden Grizzly teams are: women’s swimming and diving (10), women’s golf (9), men’s soccer (8), women’s track and field (8), softball (8), men’s track and field (7), tennis (5), women’s cross country (5), women’s basketball (4), men’s golf (4), men’s basketball (3), volleyball (3), men’s cross country (3), and men’s swimming and diving (2).

For a complete list of OU’s Mid-Continent Conference Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence, please click here.

OU’s women’s basketball team remained among the nation’s best in academics. The team members maintained a 3.515 overall grade point average to rate sixth, moving up one spot from last year’s seventh-place ranking in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association honor rolls.

Oakland was the only Division I school in Michigan to make the list for the second time in as many years. Retaining the top spot on the list was new Summit League member South Dakota State University, while former Mid-Continent Conference rival Valparaiso ranked 12th. Brown University edged out OU for the fifth spot, maintaining a 3.517 average.

Ten members of the Golden Grizzly squad earned Academic All-Conference honors this past year, posting a 3.0 or better in the winter semester.

For more information on OU’s Athletics teams, visit the OU Athletics Web site.