EIU Media Relations

A Record 1,335 Student-Athletes Named to 2015-16 OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- For the sixth straight year, a record number of student-athletes have been named to the Ohio Valley Conference’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll. 

For this 2015-16 academic year, 1,335 student-athletes were recognized for performance in the classroom, topping the mark of 1,275 from last year.  (See complete 2015-16 OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll selections here.)

To be listed, recipients must have achieved at least a 3.25 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and have been eligible and on the team throughout the competitive season in their chosen NCAA-sponsored sport(s) and used a season of competition.  Those numbers included 27 student-athletes who compete in non-OVC championship sports that do not compete in another conference (i.e., Southeast Missouri gymnastics, UT Martin equestrian, Jacksonville State beach volleyball) and 130 student-athletes who were recipients in multiple sports (and counted just once in the final total).

Eastern Illinois had the most selections to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll (157) while the sport of women’s track and field was the sport with the most honorees league-wide (184).

“We are immensely proud of these students because they have not only achieved on the playing field but also in the classroom,” said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. “These students have demonstrated a sense of balance already in their lives which is important to life-long success. From the league perspective we are proud because we have had continual growth in the number of honorees which demonstrates the conference's sustaining commitment to the broader student-athlete experience.”

Over the past 10 years, the OVC has honored more than 11,000 student-athletes with the Commissioner’s Honor Roll award. The OVC will announce the recipients of the Academic Medal of Honor, the Academic Achievement Award and the Team Academic Achievement Awards later this week.