EDISON, N.J. – A total of 187 Fairfield University student-athletes have earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Academic Honor Roll recognition for the 2017-18 academic year, as announced today by the conference office. The total represents more than 55 percent of all eligible student-athletes.
 
"Academic excellence is a vital component of our identity and our mission at Fairfield University," said Director of Athletics Paul Schlickmann. "I am proud to see that success in the classroom continues to be of utmost importance to our student-athletes and to the coaches, faculty and staff who help them achieve that success."
 
To be eligible for the MAAC Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or higher as a member of an athletic program that competes in the MAAC. Fairfield University sponsors 18 MAAC sports. Student-athletes from the Stags' men's lacrosse team, which competes in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), and the men's rowing program were not eligible for this award. Fairfield men's rowing recently saw four student-athletes garner IRA All-Academic recognition, while the CAA is set to announce its academic honors later this summer.
 
The unveiling of the MAAC Academic Honor Roll is the latest nod in a banner academic year for the Stags. Previously, seven Fairfield athletic programs were lauded by the NCAA with Public Recognition Awards: women's basketball, field hockey, men's golf, women's lacrosse, softball and men's and women's tennis. All seven teams posted an Academic Progress Rate of 1000 in the most recent NCAA report.
 
In total, 74 percent of Fairfield student-athletes achieved a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher in the fall with 76 percent attaining a 3.0 GPA or higher in the spring semester. More than 35 percent of student-athletes qualified for the Fairfield University Dean List in both semesters – a distinction that requires a semester GPA of 3.5 or better. Topping that list are 31 student-athletes to earn a 4.0 semester GPA during the academic year, including 10 who merited a 4.0 GPA in both the fall and the spring.
 
Throughout the MAAC, a conference-record 2,360 student-athletes earned MAAC Academic Honor Roll laurels. The distinction is open to all full- and associate-member institutions that participate in the 24 varsity sports sponsored by the MAAC.