FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Seven Fairfield University athletic teams were cited for excellence in the classroom by receiving the NCAA Public Recognition Award, the most of any Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) institution. Men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's lacrosse, men's swimming, and men's tennis collected the award by achieving an Academic Progress Rate (APR) that ranked among the top 10 percent in their respective sport.

Men's cross country earned the Public Recognition Award for the ninth straight year, the longest streak by any Fairfield University athletic program. The women's cross country collected the award for the fourth time, and for the third straight season.

The women's golf team and the men's tennis team received honor for the fifth time while men's golf received their third honor. Men's swimming received the honor for the second consecutive year while men's lacrosse earned the accolade for the first time.

The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason. The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-2012 and 2012-13 academic years.

The 1,049 teams publicly recognized for high achievement represent 631 women's teams and 418 men's or mixed squads. In 2013, 976 teams were recognized. The scores required to be in the top ten ranged from 980 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport, with the majority of top 10 teams earning a perfect APR. A total of 275 Division I schools (and seven in other divisions who have a sport competing in Division I) placed at least one team on the top APR list.