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 --
