ATLANTA, Ga. -- Four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) women's basketball programs earned distinction inside the WBCA Academic Top 25, which ranks college women's basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2017-18 season is the 23rd in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls. 

Michigan Tech earned the top spot in NCAA Division II with a 3.796 GPA from former head coach Kim Cameron's squad. Purdue Northwest earned the No. 2 position one year after taking home the academic national crown in their final year as an NAIA institution. Head coach Thomas Megyesi lead his Pride to the stellar GPA of 3.755.

Ashland boasted a No. 6 ranking following a 3.699 grade-point average after the Eagles made a run to the national title contest. Jamie Pewinski's Saginaw Valley program finished the academic year No. 24 with a 3.575 GPA. 

"The WBCA is pleased to recognize those women's basketball programs that have committed themselves to excellence on the court and in the classroom," said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew.  "The 119 teams we honor this year strive to achieve all-around success and we commend their efforts. Congratulations!" 

A team's GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) earned by the total number of academic hours attempted by all team members in the academic terms (semesters or quarters) that the season spans. Weighted grades are converted to a 4.0 scale. The GPAs are rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point. Teams are nominated for the honor by the WBCA member head coach. A team must have a 3.000 or better GPA to be nominated. 

About the Women's Basketball Coaches Association

Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit  www.WBCA.org for more details about the Association.