GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Bellevue University baseball team has been recognized by the American Baseball Coaches' Association by receiving the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. It is the third time in the last five seasons that the Bruins have earned the award, having previously done so in both 2017 and 2020.
The Bruins were one of just 27 NAIA schools to receive the honor and one of just eight that also qualified for the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round. Joining BU as institutions to both receive the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award and qualifying for Opening Round were Doane, Indiana Tech, Mount Vernon Nazarene, Olivet Nazarene, Our Lady of the Lake, Saint Xavier, and USC Beaufort.
The American Baseball Coaches Association recognized over 580 member college and high school programs from across the country who have been awarded the 2020-21 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. Teams from every level of college and high school baseball were honored with this year's award, which highlights programs coached by ABCA members that posted a GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale for the entire 2020-21 academic year.
Over 200 high school programs and more than 380 collegiate programs were recognized with this year's award.
Coaches were able to nominate their teams for the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award following the conclusion of their spring semesters prior to the nomination deadline of July 12. To be honored, teams had to meet the following criteria:
- Must be a high school or college team
- Head coach must be a current ABCA member
- Teams must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale during the 2020-21 academic year.
The American Baseball Coaches Association has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams are the nation's oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA's awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Awards, the ABCA/ATEC Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award.
Bellevue finished the year at 41-18, won the NSAA Regular-Season title, and reached the NAIA National Tournament for the 23rd time in program history. It was their eighth 40-win campaign in the last nine full seasons of competition.
