RICHMOND, Va. – Fairfield University has been recognized with the inaugural Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Team Academic Excellence Award for men's lacrosse, as announced today by the conference office. The new honor recognizes the institution with the highest collective grade-point average (GPA) in each of the 22 sports sponsored by the CAA. The Stags claimed the award with a collective 3.12 GPA in 2016-17.
 
"We expect all of our student-athletes to achieve academically, and I applaud them for rising to the challenge this year," said Head Coach Andy Copelan, who recently completed his ninth season with the Stags. "We are proud to share this award with the Fairfield University administration, faculty and staff that help our student-athletes succeed in the classroom."
 
Fairfield's GPA was bolstered by 33 student-athletes with at least one semester over a 3.0 in 2016-17, including 20 members of the University's Dean List (3.5 or higher) and three Stags that achieved a 4.0 semester GPA in either the fall or spring.
 
Previously, Jake Knostman '17 was recognized by the CAA as the Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Knostman and fellow 2017 graduate Andrew Eidenshink were both tabbed as United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Scholar All-Americans and Academic All-New England following their senior campaigns.