MONTEVALLO, Ala. - The University of Montevallo Athletics Department led the way in the Gulf South Conference with 130 student-athletes being named recipients of the D2 Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Awards.

The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 15^th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level. To earn this award, student-athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale and was an active member of their team during the 2021-2022 academic year.

"Congratulations to our student-athletes who continue to achieve academic excellence all the while putting in many hours in their chosen sport," said Director of Athletics Mark Richard.  "I also want to recognize our head coaches and assistant coaches who make academics a priority."

In total, there were a record breaking 16,639 student-athletes from 169 institutions recognized for the 2021-22 Academic Achievement Awards. This marks the most student-athletes to be recognized since the inception of the award's program.

"Congratulations to all of the student-athlete recipients of the distinguished D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award," said Kim Pate, Vice President for Athletics at Lenoir-Rhyne University and current D2 ADA President. "It's been so impressive to see the number of student-athlete's recognized for their stellar performance in the classroom grow to record numbers year to year since the inception of this award. This a reflection our member institution's commitment to ensuring special recognition of the academic success of so many well-deserving student-athletes."

Since the inception of the award's program in 2007-08, there has been a total of 127,854 student-athlete nominees recognized for their academic achievements at the Division II level.