BOSTON – The Walter Harrison Academic Cup will return to the University of Hartford Department of Athletics, the America East announced on Wednesday. Combining for a grade-point average of 3.42, the Hawks will share the Academic Cup with New Hampshire. This is the eighth time Hartford has won the Academic Cup, and the first since the 2017-18 academic year.
 
"This is an outstanding honor that reflects the academic excellence of our student-athletes and efforts of our academic support team," said Vice-President of Athletics & Recreation Dr. Sharon Beverly.
 
Established by the America East Board of Directors in 1995, the Walter Harrison Academic Cup, which was renamed in honor of former University of Hartford President Walter Harrison in 2017, is presented to the institution whose student-athletes post the highest GPA during the academic year. This is the fourth time in America East history that two institutions have shared the Academic Cup.
 
Hartford is no stranger to the Walter Harrison Academic Cup, winning seven of the last 10 Academic Cups. The Hawks also won the award in each year from 2012-15.
 
The Hawks' 3.42 GPA tied with New Hampshire, which also calculated a 3.42 mark. Vermont (3.40) posted the third-highest GPA among America East teams, while Binghamton (3.39) and Maine and NJIT (3.36) rounded out the top-five.
 
Three of Hartford's 15 America East sponsored athletic programs recorded the highest GPA among their peers. The volleyball team highlighted the list of winners for the Hawks, as they earned the highest Hartford team GPA (3.84). Joining them as the top team in the league was softball (3.72) and women's track and field (3.64).
 
"I am extremely proud of our Hartford Hawks winning the prestigious award of the Walter Harrison Academic Co-Cup this year," said Associate Director of Athletics for Academics and Student-Athlete Success/Senior Woman Administrator Denise Marchese. "This honor is an astonishing correlation to our student athletes' perseverance and dedication to academic excellence."
 
As a conference, America East student-athletes are coming off a tremendous year in the classroom, with each of the 10 institutions averaging better than a 3.10 GPA in 2020-21. The league's student-athletes averaged a 3.31 GPA in 2021-22, the second-highest mark in conference history.
 
In addition, America East student-athletes have averaged better than a 3.0 GPA in 17 consecutive years.