ANAHEIM, CA – In its first season as a member of the Pacific West Conference, the Dominican University of California athletic program has been selected the 2009-10 PacWest Academic Achievement Award winner.
 
PacWest Commissioner Bob Hogue made the announcement during the conference meetings being held at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention in Anaheim, CA, on Monday, June 21.
 
The Penguin athletic program put together a 3.21 grade point average to claim the only team championship earned in the classroom. It was the highest average of the nine current programs in the league and edged Grand Canyon University by .024. The Antelope athletic program produced a GPA average of 3.186.
 
The grade point average for each school is not based upon its cumulative average, but rather an average of how each student athlete performed in the classroom during the 2009-10 academic year.
 
"Dominican had a phenomenal year in the classroom and should be applauded for its outstanding effort, especially in its first year of conference membership," Hogue said. "And, the conference student-athletes set a record with five of the nine PacWest athletic programs boasting a GPA of at least 3.0.”
 
The overall conference grade point average was a stellar 3.036.
 
In addition to Dominican and Grand Canyon finishing one-two this season, last year's champion BYU-Hawaii placed third with a 3.126, while the 2006 top squad Notre Dame de Namur took fourth with a 3.084. Chaminade rounded out the five programs with a 3.00 GPA by taking fifth with a 3.006.
 
“That academic excellence is just another historic achievement in an historic year for the PacWest," Hogue said.