July 7, 2009

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Three of Notre Dame's 21 sports that compete in BIG EAST sports were honored with the 2008-09 BIG EAST Team Excellence Awards recognizing the highest collective grade-point averages in each conference sport. The Fighting Irish men's basketball, men's swimming and diving and women's tennis teams were all recipients of the second annual awards.

Ten BIG EAST schools had at least one team honored as DePaul finished with a conference-best seven teams recognized. Notre Dame, Seton Hall and Syracuse had three teams honored, while Cincinnati and St. John's each had two, and Georgetown, Louisville, USF and West Virginia each had one.

In addition to having the highest grade point average, the Irish women's tennis and men's swimming and diving teams each won BIG EAST championships -- two of the eight conference crowns that were captured by Notre Dame teams this season.

Both men's basketball and women's tennis earned the honor for the second consecutive year. Nineteen of Notre Dame's 21 BIG EAST teams earned a better than 3.00 cumulative grade-point average during the '08-'09 academic year.

The Irish women's tennis team (which shared the honor with DePaul) bested all Notre Dame teams with a 3.537, while the men's swimming and diving team finished with a 3.272 and the men's basketball team with a 3.165 grade index.

2008-09 BIG EAST Team Excellence Award Winners
Sport                           School
Baseball                        USF
Men's Basketball                Notre Dame
Women's Basketball              DePaul
Men's Cross Country             DePaul
Women's Cross Country           DePaul
Field Hockey                    Louisville
Football                        West Virginia
Men's Golf                      Seton Hall
Women's Golf                    St. John's
Women's Lacrosse                Cincinnati
Women's Rowing                  Georgetown
Men's Soccer                    DePaul
Women's Soccer                  Seton Hall
Softball                        Seton Hall
Men's Swimming & Diving         Notre Dame
Women's Swimming & Diving       Cincinnati
Men's Tennis                    St. John's
Women's Tennis                  DePaul and Notre Dame
Men's Indoor Track & Field      DePaul
Women's Indoor Track & Field    Syracuse
Men's Outdoor Track & Field     DePaul
Women's Outdoor Track & Field   Syracuse
Women's Volleyball              Syracuse

-- ND --