Mercer Leads SoCon with 314 Honor Roll Selections
7/6/2017 11:09:00 AM | Academics
Mercer tallied 86 more honor roll selections than the next closest school
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer University had a Southern Conference-leading 314 student-athletes named to the league's 2016-17 academic honor roll Thursday, marking yet another academic accomplishment for the school's 18 intercollegiate athletics programs this year.
The Bears have led the SoCon in honor roll recipients for three straight years dating back to the 2014-15 academic year. Mercer's 314 honor roll selections were 86 more than the next closest school, which was Furman (228). Mercer also led the conference with 31 student-athletes who earned 4.0 grade point averages. The SoCon set a league record with 2,100 student-athletes from its 10 member institutions and 13 associate members named to the list.
The honor roll announcement continues an impressive streak of academic achievements by Mercer; the Bears won their second consecutive Barrett-Bonner Award – given to the school that places the highest percentage of its student-athletes on the league's academic honor roll – and led the conference with 113 total academic all-conference selections for the 2016-17 academic year.
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 (GPA) or higher, were eligible the entire academic year and were members of the final squad lists.
Of the 2,100 student-athletes selected to the honor roll, 468 earned the Commissioner's Medal, awarded to student-athletes who attain a GPA of 3.8 or higher throughout the year. Football boasted the most student-athletes on the list with 333, followed by women's soccer (214) and men's lacrosse (199).
For the complete SoCon academic honor roll list, click here.
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