UND football achieves league's top grade-point average, sets Missouri Valley Football Conference record
Jul. 1—The UND football program's first season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference was a success on the field, winning a share of the league title before advancing to the FCS quarterfinals for the first time.
On Thursday, it was also announced the Fighting Hawks had a successful first campaign in the classroom.
UND's football players recorded a conference-record 3.383 grade-point average, edging Southern Illinois at 3.310, Northern Iowa at 3.130 and North Dakota State at 3.125.
In 2005, the MVFC introduced an All-Academic Award to recognize team academic achievement. The award is based on the average student-athlete grade-point average for the previous academic year. The GPA calculations include all players who compete, practice or receive athletic aid during the academic year.
Prior to this season, the 3.00 threshold has only been passed eight times in league history, with NDSU's 3.122 GPA last year the only time a team had previously surpassed 3.10.
UND finished with 52 athletes recording a grade-point average this past term of 3.5 or higher, with 20 players recording a perfect 4.0.
During the spring semester, UND marked a 26th consecutive semester with a 3.0 overall department GPA. It also marked the fifth consecutive semester with every UND program at 3.0 or higher.
The football team had 16 players on the UND President's List, while 17 players represented the football squad on the UND Dean's List. Six UND players were named to the 2020-21 MVFC All-Academic Teams.
