UNH Records Outstanding 3.44 GPA in America East Walter Harrison Academic Cup

BOSTON – The University of New Hampshire recorded an outstanding 3.44 GPA to finish among the top schools in the 2022-23 Walter Harrison Academic Cup as announced Thursday by America East.

This is the third consecutive year UNH recorded a 3.40 or higher in the Academic Cup. The Wildcats won last year with a 3.42 and finished with a 3.47 in 2020-21.

Six of the 12 Wildcat teams in America East tallied a GPA of 3.44 or higher; conference champion swimming & diving led the way with a 3.69 and was followed by women's cross country (3.64), women's soccer – another conference championship team – (3.63), volleyball (3.60), women's track & field (3.58) and women's lacrosse (3.57).

"We are extremely proud of the high academic performance of our student-athletes again this year," said Joanne Maldari, Associate Athletic Director, Athletic Support. "Achieving an even higher overall GPA from last year, combined with three America East championships, demonstrates how special our student-athletes are."

UNH received a number of academic awards through the 2022-23 academic year.

Eleven 'Cats were named an America East Presidential Scholar-Athlete in recognition of seniors who completed their undergraduate degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher.

Two Wildcats were named the America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year in their respective sports; those honorees were Yannick Bright (Milan, Italy) in men's soccer and Madison Linstedt (Marion, Ohio) in women's swimming and diving. Also of note, Max Brosmer (Roswell, Ga.) was named the CAA Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Cassie Jones (Beverly, Mass.) of women's soccer earned an Elite 18 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete who has the highest GPA among those competing in that sport's America East championship.

Alpine skier Lisa Olsson (Stockholm, Sweden) was named the NCAA Elite 90 recipient in skiing and was voted to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Women's At-Large Second Team. Including Olsson, a total of 28 Wildcats were named to a CSC Academic All-District Team in 2022-23.

Eighty-two 'Cats earned Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, recognition.

New Hampshire placed third in this year's Walter Harrison Academic Cup by a margin of .02 to the University of Vermont (3.46). The University of Maine also edged out UNH with a 3.45.

The Wildcats had placed first or second in nine of the previous 11 Academic Cups, and the 'Cats did not place lower than third any of those years.

UNH has won the Academic Cup a total of seven times: back-to-back in the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 academic years, three consecutive years spanning 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, again in both 2018-19 and 2021-22.

America East student-athletes averaged a 3.37 GPA overall in 2022-23 and that is the second-highest mark in conference history. All nine America East institutions averaged better than a 3.19 GPA this past year and to mark the 18^th consecutive year the conference's student-athletes averaged better than a 3.00 GPA.

The Walter Harrison Academic Cup, established by the America East Board of Directors in 1995, is presented to the institution whose student-athletes record the highest grade-point-average during that academic year. It was renamed in honor of the outgoing University of Hartford president in June 2017.

America East is proud to have one of most comprehensive academic awards programs in the country. In addition to the Walter Harrison Academic Cup, the conference recognizes a Scholar-Athlete of the Year in every sport as well as both a Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Presidential Scholar-Athlete awards are bestowed to student-athletes who graduate with a 3.75 GPA.

The Elite 18 program recognizes elite students while All-Academic teams comprised of student-athletes that excel both academically and athletically are chosen in each of the conference's 18 sports. The conference also recognizes all student-athletes who achieve at least a 3.0 GPA on its Academic Honor Roll, with those achieving a 3.50 average or better receiving Commissioner's Honor Roll status.

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