NAIA announces Scholar-Teams Monday

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It's National Awards Day for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and the NAIA Scholar-Team award was among the many honors recognized on Monday. Loyola New Orleans had 16 of its 20 athletics programs achieve a team GPA better than 3.0 to earn Scholar-Team status, which is one better than last year.  

The Loyola women's tennis team recorded the best team GPA for the Wolf Pack with a 3.68, and the volleyball and beach volleyball programs weren't too far behind with 3.63 and 3.61 marks. 

In total, Wolf Pack Athletics posted a 3.269 department GPA for the 2023-24 academic year, and a department-record 83 Loyola student-athletes were given NAIA Daktronic Scholar-Athlete awards. 

In April, the Wolf Pack Athletics Department celebrated its Scholar-Athletes for the 2023 calendar year. To earn Loyola Scholar-Athlete status, student-athletes must have a GPA better than 3.0, and the department also honored the 2022-23 NAIA Scholar-Athlete Teams and 2024 graduates.  The College of Art and Sciences had 112 Loyola student-athletes record a 3.0 GPA or better, followed by the College of Business with 101, the College of Music and Media with 33, the College of Nursing and Health with eight and the College of Law with one. From there, student-athletes were broken down into three tiers: Gold (4.0 GPA), Silver (3.50-3.99) and Bronze (3.00-3.49). 

A total of 255 earned that recognition, which is a department record. Loyola also celebrated its 55 2023-24 graduates, as well as its 15 2022-23 NAIA Scholar Teams. 

NAIA Scholar-Team Teams

Baseball 3.32
Beach Volleyball 3.61
Competitive Cheer 3.15
Competitive Dance 3.45
Men's Basketball: 3.11
Men's Golf: 3.35
Men's Swimming: 3.12
Men's Tennis: 3.45
Women's Basketball: 3.44
Women's Cross Country: 3.59
Women's Golf: 3.44
Women's Indoor Track & Field: 3.50
Women's Outdoor Track & Field: 3.50
Women's Swimming: 3.43
Women's Tennis: 3.68
Volleyball: 3.63