SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference released its Academic Honor Roll for the 2022-23 academic year on Wednesday, with a 2,470 student-athletes from the 10 member institutions and nine associate members earning the distinction.
“Institutions in the Southern Conference emphasize education,” SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross said. “As a league, we’re proud to honor and recognize the academic performance of each of the college athletes named to the Academic Honor Roll. The dedication and diligence necessary to balance classroom performance and athletic commitments represents uncommon excellence. It's also important to acknowledge the personal investment the academic advisors and counselors on each campus make in the athletes’ lives. Their mentorship and guidance are truly appreciated.”
The Academic Honor Roll originated in 1988-89, when SoCon athletic directors established the award as a way to recognize the league's outstanding student-athletes. The Academic Honor Roll consists of student-athletes who participated in varsity sports and posted a 3.0 grade point average or higher for the academic year, were eligible the entire academic year and were members of the final squad lists. The award is different from the academic all-conference award, announced Tuesday, which is determined by cumulative GPA and involves a participation requirement.
The 2,470 selections are the third-most in SoCon history. Of this year’s qualifiers, 705 earned the Commissioner’s Medal, awarded to student-athletes who attain a GPA of 3.8 or higher throughout the year, and 224 posted perfect 4.0 GPAs.
Mercer paced the league with 328 members on the honor roll, while Wofford was second with 285 and ETSU was third with 266. Each of the SoCon’s 10 full members had at least 177 student-athletes on the list and seven of them surpassed 200.
ETSU paced the league with 85 student-athletes earning Commissioner’s Medals, while Chattanooga had a league-best 34 student-athletes post 4.0 GPAs.
Associate members in wrestling (98) and rifle (20) accounted for 118 selections.
The honor roll includes all 20 sports sponsored by the SoCon in 2022-23 as well as the non-sponsored sports of swimming and diving, water polo, triathlon, men’s and women’s lacrosse and beach volleyball.