Northwestern University Athletics
Friday is National Student-Athlete Day
4/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
April 6, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Created in 1987 to increase the positive virtues of sport and to recognize student-athletes nationwide, National Student-Athlete Day celebrates its 20th anniversary today (Friday, April 6).
National Student-Athlete Day honors student-athletes and the network of parents, coaches, teachers and school systems that make it possible for young people to strike a balance between academic and athletic achievement. The day, established by the National Consortium for Academics & Sports and Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, is co-sponsored by the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
Northwestern is in the midst of unprecedented success within its athletic department, coming off two-consecutive No. 29 finishes in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup -- NU's highest ever placing in the standings which recognize institutions with the best overall athletics programs.
The Wildcats are aiming for their third-consecutive top-30 finish after successful fall and winter sport seasons. Men's soccer earned a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals in the fall, while wrestling (fourth), men's swimming (sixth) and women's fencing (seventh) all turned in top-10 NCAA finishes during the winter.
In addition to its team finishes, Northwestern won four individual NCAA titles in the winter. Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) won the 184-pound wrestling championship, Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) was the men's swimming 200 backstroke champ, Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) won the NCAA 100 breaststroke swimming title and the men's swimming squad of Grevers, Alexandrov, Kyle Bubolz (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) and Bruno Barbic (Zagreb, Croatia/V. Gymnazija) captured the NCAA 400-medley relay championship.
Academically, Northwestern continues to be a leader among its peers. In the latest APR data, NU achieved a score of 986, the highest score among Big Ten schools. Ten programs received a perfect 1,000 score. Also, Northwestern finished fourth in last year's National Collegiate Scouting Association's Collegiate Power Rankings, which average each school's U.S. News & World Report ranking, the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup rank and the student-athlete graduation rate of each school.
So far in 2006-07, 81 Northwestern student-athletes have earned Academic All-Big Ten accolades, including a school-record 16 from football. Three Wildcats also have earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors so far this year.
"Over the last 15 years, National Student-Athlete Day has grown to enormous proportions with 2,415,860 student-athletes being honored nationwide since 1997," said Richard Lapchick, Director of the Northeastern Center for the Study of Sport in Society. "It has truly become America's day to honor student-athletes."
