It would be nice to be approaching the time of year when we start talking about college football and basketball action for the upcoming seasons.

Well, since that is still way up in the air, it seems like a good time to acknowledge the academic accomplishments of our Montana Grizzly men's basketball team.  Thanks to UM Sports Information Director Nic Hallisey for sending us the good news today.

The Montana men's basketball team was recognized for its academic merit on Thursday, earning the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award for the third time in the past five seasons. NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA teams with cumulative grade-point averages of 3.0 or better for the 2019-20 season garnered the recognition, so it is a long list, but one on which they definitely should be proud of being. Among the list of institutions recognized, Montana is one of four Big Sky Conference schools. The other three are Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Northern Arizona.

Griz head coach Travis DeCuire expressed pride that his team's have been able to receive this recognition several times now. Said the coach, It's something we don't take lightly, and something we put a lot of attention into throughout the year." Six years in as head coach, and every senior who has touched the floor for us has walked away with a diploma.

The men's basketball program had four individual Academic All-Big Sky selections this spring, including three returners. The lone graduate honored was Jared Samuelson. The honored returnees are Mack Anderson, Eddy Egun and Kyle Owens. The Grizzlies posted a 3.22 cumulative GPA in 2019-20, including a 3.38 mark during the spring term.

So, a little good news today for Griz Nation. We hope you're proud of the team, proud of the coach and proud of what these student athletes are doing in the classroom.

 

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