GREENSBORO, N.C. – The American Baseball Coaches Association recently announced that Utah Valley University baseball was one of 51 NCAA Division I squads to have earned ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award recognition for the 2018-19 academic year. 
 
UVU is the only team in the state of Utah as well as one of just two Western Athletic Conference institutions to have achieved the academic feat this year, as Chicago State was also recognized. 
 
"I'm very proud of our team for working hard in the classroom and achieving this tremendous honor," head UVU coach Eric Madsen said. "This says a lot of the character of our student-athletes and what type of young men they truly are. We have a wonderful academic staff here at Utah Valley and I am very thankful to them for continually working with and supporting our team." 
 
The honor marks Utah Valley's second in the past three seasons, as it previously earned ABCA Team Academic Excellence Awards honors for the 2016-17 academic year. 
 
The ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award is open to any high school or collegiate (NCAA Division I, II and III; NAIA; and junior college) team that has a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale during the 2018-19 academic year. In all, a total of 307 programs received this year's award.
 
"We are proud to once again honor the academic achievements of so many of our member programs," said ABCA Executive Director Craig Keilitz. "The off-the-field success of this year's award winners is a testament to the hard work of the student-athletes and the commitment of coaches and academic personnel to developing well-rounded individuals."
 
The American Baseball Coaches Association has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams are the nation's oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA's awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Awards, the ABCA/Diamond Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award.