INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - The NCAA has announced 37 Division II Institutions that will receive the President's Award for Academic Excellence. Florida Tech, along with Rollins College, Eckerd College, Florida Southern College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Nova Southeastern University, lead the Sunshine State Conference with NCAA Division II Academic Success Rates of 90 percent or better. Nearly all student-athletes in these institutions' 2015-18 cohort graduated within six years of their original enrollment.
 
Florida Tech repeats this honor for the third straight year under the leadership of Athletic Director Jamie Joss and the department's coaching staffs. Panther athletics placed 17^th on the President's Award list with a 92% on the Academic Success Rate scale.

"The Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence highlights what makes Division II truly distinctive — our unwavering commitment to the full success of our student-athletes," said Colleen Perry Keith, president at Goldey-Beacom College and president of the Division II Executive Board. "Achieving a 90 percent Academic Success Rate is an extraordinary accomplishment, and these 43 institutions exemplify the balance of academic achievement, competitive excellence, and personal growth that defines Division II. I am especially proud of the sustained dedication shown by the schools that have earned this honor year after year. Their consistency reflects a deep, campuswide commitment to ensuring that student-athletes are supported, challenged, and prepared for life well beyond graduation."

The Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial college enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships. The Division II ASR also captures about 40 percent more college athletes than the federal graduation rate. Unlike the Federal Graduation Rate, the ASR also counts student-athletes who transfer to a school after initial enrollment elsewhere and removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible. The national ASR is 77 percent for student-athletes who entered college from 2015 through 2018.
 
Regardless of which measure is used, Division II college athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. The federal rate for the 2018 entering class of student-athletes was 58 percent, compared to 53 percent for the general student body.