By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Having already established a long-standing tradition of success in the classroom, the Tennessee Tech soccer team added to its academic trophy case with another piece of hardware to display on its scholastic shelf.

The Golden Eagles were recognized with the United Soccer Coaches College Team Academic Award, an honor bestowed upon the purple and gold after achieving a combined team grade point average of 3.57 for the 2019-20 school year. In order to be considered for the accolade, a team must have a composite team GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for all team members who appear on the official roster forms for the fall season.

"I want to congratulate our team on being honored by the United Soccer Coaches Association," TTU head coach Steve Springthorpe said. "Our student-athletes are very committed to their education and take tremendous pride in working hard at representing Tennessee Tech and the OVC in the classroom. I am happy that their efforts are being recognized with this national academic award and am proud of our group for making the commitment both on the field, and more importantly, in the classroom."

Tech's national honor comes on the heels of a recent spring semester that saw the Golden Eagles soar in the classroom on their way to another department Large Academic Team of the Year accolade as part of the Golden Wings Awards. The soccer program is the only Tennessee Tech team to earn the honor since its inception in 2015-16, checking the prestigious box for the fifth straight year.

Individually, 23 Golden Eagles found themselves on the Spring 2020 Athletic Director's Honor Roll, including nine that achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA. 17 soccer student-athletes were also recognized on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2019-20 academic year.

Photo by Thomas Corhern