June 20, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - For the third straight year, Utah State has led the Western Athletic Conference in number of academic all-league honorees as the Aggies landed 130 student-athletes on the academic all-WAC teams in 2007-08. USU just completed its third season in the WAC as it joined the league in July, 2005.

Overall, it is the ninth time in the last 10 years that Utah State has had the most academic all-league honorees as it led the Big West Conference in 2000 and 2002-05. In 2001, the Aggies ranked second in the Big West in academic selections.

"We have high academic expectations for our student-athletes and having the most academic all-conference selections for the third straight year in the WAC shows they are meeting those expectations," said associate athletics director for student-athlete services Dr. Brian Evans. "This accolade is a testament to the emphasis the athletics department, coaches and students put toward academic achievement."

During 2007-08, Utah State had 130 student-athletes earn academic all-WAC honors to lead the league, while Boise State was second with 116, Fresno State was third with 107, Nevada was fourth with 103, and Idaho was fifth with 101. To qualify for the academic teams, student-athletes must post a 3.0 grade-point average and participate in at least 50 percent of the team's games.

Utah State teams that led the WAC in their respective sports include women's track and field with 25 honorees, soccer with 16 honorees, men's track and field with 15 honorees, and men's golf with five honorees. USU's volleyball team finished second with nine all-WAC selections, trailing only Hawai'i who had 10.

Utah State student-athletes presently boast a cumulative composite 3.04 grade-point average with 49 percent owning at least a 3.00 GPA.