Academics NCAA President's Award for Excellence honors athletic programs that have a 90% or better graduation rate.

Four PacWest Teams Earn President's Award

Dominican, Point Loma, Biola and Westmont can boast of a 92-95 percent graduation success rate with their student-athletes. It's the first time the PacWest has had four schools make the grade.

Biola University, Dominican University, Point Loma Nazarene University and Westmont College have been honored with the President's Award for Academic Excellence. 

The honor has been awarded to 43 Division II schools that have achieved an Academic Success Rate of 90% or higher. The Pacific West Conference, represented by these four schools, had the most honorees of any of the conferences in the west and southwest (Super Region 4). Out of 23 NCAA Division II schools, the PacWest tied for third with their four President's Award honorees.

It's the first time that the conference has had four athletic programs make the short list. 

"The Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence highlights what makes Division II truly distinctive — our unwavering commitment to the full success of our student-athletes," said Colleen Perry Keith, president at Goldey-Beacom College and president of the Division II Executive Board. "Achieving a 90 percent Academic Success Rate is an extraordinary accomplishment, and these 43 institutions exemplify the balance of academic achievement, competitive excellence and personal growth that defines Division II. I am especially proud of the sustained dedication shown by the schools that have earned this honor year after year. Their consistency reflects a deep, campuswide commitment to ensuring that student-athletes are supported, challenged and prepared for life well beyond graduation."

The Division II ASR includes transfers into a school in the calculation and removes those who transferred out of the school while academically eligible. The ASR also includes over 30,000 nonscholarship student-athletes in the division who were enrolled in the four years covered in the most recent data.

Point Loma and Dominican had a 95 percent rate while Biola and Westmont checked in at 92 percent. 

Even when using the less-inclusive federal graduation rate, student-athletes are outperforming their peers in the general student population by five percentage points. For Division II student-athletes, the federal rate is 58%, while the general student body federal rate is 53%.

This is the 15th year the award has been given.