by Mark Womack, Sports Information Director
Cedarville University continues to make its mark in NCAA Division II athletics on the field of competition, and even more so in the classroom.
All 14 Yellow Jacket varsity programs posted a team cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 through the spring 2021-22 semester. Overall, Cedarville student-athletes combined for a 3.44 GPA across all sports. 
“The continued academic success of our student-athletes is a team effort,” said Teresa Clark, faculty athletic representative. “The academic accomplishments of our student-athletes are the result of us having responsible athletes, understanding faculty and supportive coaches.”
The numbers reveal that among women’s teams, cross country (3.68 GPA) was the frontrunner, followed closely by track & field (3.64) and basketball (3.63). On the men’s side, soccer (3.49) took top honors, with cross country (3.44) and track & field (3.42) not far behind.
“We are appreciative of the great work that our faculty does in challenging, teaching and helping our student-athletes in being successful in the classroom, said Christopher Cross, athletic director.”
The Yellow Jackets earned the NCAA Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence earlier in the year for the ninth consecutive time. The award recognizes institutions for achieving four-year Academic Success Rates (ASR) of 90% or higher. Cedarville finished tied for 15th out of more than 300 Division II member schools in the country with an ASR of 93%.
The ASR is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment and consists of virtually all Division II student-athletes. What’s more, only two other Great Midwest Athletic Conference institutions received the award — Hillsdale College and Trevecca Nazarene University.
Additionally, 183 Yellow Jacket student-athletes made the 2021-22 G-MAC Academic Team, which features men and women with a minimum 3.30 cumulative GPA.
Distance running specialist Rachel Sweeney-Bredeson was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® First Team in women’s cross country/track & field. She’s the first Yellow Jacket in any sport to earn first-team honors twice.
Soccer player Jonny Stephens was a repeat selection to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Second Team, becoming just the second Cedarville University men’s athlete to be a two-time Academic All-American.