Coconino News

Northern Arizona University (NAU) has announced that 52 of its student-athletes have been selected for the Fall Big Sky Conference All-Academic team. This announcement, made from Farmington, Utah, includes athletes from various sports such as football, volleyball, soccer, and men's and women's cross country.

To qualify for this honor, athletes must meet several criteria: participation in at least half of their team's competitions, a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale by the end of the most recent term, and completion of at least one academic term at their current Big Sky institution. Cross country athletes had the additional option to compete in the conference championship to be eligible.

Women's soccer had the highest representation with 18 student-athletes named to the team. Football followed with 14 representatives. Volleyball contributed nine selections while men's cross country added six members and women's cross country five.

Among these honorees, 43 maintained a GPA of at least 3.50 and sixteen achieved a perfect GPA of 4.00.

The Big Sky Conference recognized a total of 626 student-athletes across five sports. NAU ranked sixth in terms of representatives within this group. The university's soccer program tied for second-most selections among league teams, while volleyball tied for third.

These accomplishments extend beyond academics; both NAU's men's and women's cross country teams were crowned Big Sky Champions. The men's team further secured their third consecutive NCAA Division I Championship title while the women's team finished sixth nationally. Additionally, NAU's soccer team won both regular season and tournament Big Sky titles.