Record-setting number of student athletes named to SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Carson-Newman broke its school record for most student athletes placed on the South Atlantic Conference's Commissioner's Honor Roll, the league office announced Thursday morning.
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Carson-Newman broke its school record for most student athletes placed on the South Atlantic Conference's Commissioner's Honor Roll, the league office announced Thursday morning.
The Eagles landed 137 student athletes on the honor roll. This marks a fourth consecutive year where Carson-Newman has been lauded with at least 130 honorees. The Eagles have placed, 134, 133 and 136 on the honor roll in the last three years.
"Our first obligation when we think of student athletes is to think of the student," Carson-Newman Vice President for Athletics Allen Morgan said. " Their dedication reflects well on the field, which we believe also translates well back to the classroom. Our goal is to produce great students who are also athletes."
To be eligible for inclusion on the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, student-athletes must have competed in a sponsored championship sport and maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher throughout the academic year.
"To have another record-breaking number of student-athletes on this list is a great honor for the entire South Atlantic Conference," South Atlantic Conference Commissioner Patrick Britz said. "Our student athletes, coaches and administrators work very hard to have success in the classroom and on the court/field of play and I am thrilled to recognize this accomplishment."
Carson-Newman's 137 honorees were part of a record-setting year for the league as well. A record 1,710 student-athletes, spanning each of the South Atlantic Conference's 12 member institutions and 18 sports, were named to the 2017-18 SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll. The number of honorees represents an increase of seven student-athletes from last year's list.
Lenoir-Rhyne led the South Atlantic Conference with 198 student-athletes on the honor roll. Tusculum came in at No. 2 with 196. In third was Catawba with 173, with Wingate coming in fourth with 167.
In terms of raw numbers for Carson-Newman, baseball led the way with 17 honorees, football followed with 16. Men's soccer, women's cross country/track and field, and volleyball all had 13 players listed on the honor roll.
For percentages, volleyball and women's golf saw at least 60 percent of their rosters recognized.
The accolades come on the heels of a year where Carson-Newman had a school record eight athletes named academic All-America. football running back Jared Dillingham, women's soccer striker Lauren Wade, women's swimmer Mary Northcutt, men's swimmer Paden Duke, baseball pitcher Dillon Kate, men's track high jumper Tanner Stepp, men's golfer Anthony Marcinelli and cross country/track distance runner Rebakah White all garnered honors for the Eagles this year. Stepp was Carson-Newman's sixth two-time Academic All-America selection.
Carson-Newman has had 13 Google Cloud Academic All-Americans over the last two years, equalling the number of academic All-Americans from the last 12 years combined.
Baseball's Ryan Victory and track's White also earned the SAC's prestigious Elite 20 Awards for having the highest GPAs of any athlete competing at the championship site of their respective sports.
