LISTEN – 58 UM Student Athletes Make Academic All-Big Sky Team

After scoring the highest cumulative GPA ever, University of Montana student athletes placed 58 on the Academic All-Big Sky team.

Senior associate Athletic Director Jean Gee said on Friday that being placed on the Academic All-Big Sky team is the ultimate honor for any student athlete.

"The All Big-Sky Academic team is a great honor because it combines both their academic performance and their athletic performance," Gee said. "To be eligible, they have to have participated in at least half of the competitions and they have to have achieved a cumulative GPA through the fall semester of at least a 3.20."

Gee broke down the sports that placed members on the team.

"We had a total of 58 student athletes, which placed third in the Big Sky Conference," she said. "We had 20 from our soccer team, the most in the Big Sky, we had 15 from our football team, 10 from our volleyball team, eight from the women's cross-country team, which is almost the entire squad, and then five from our men's cross country squad."

Eastern Washington had a league-high 67 selections, while Southern Utah earned 59 and Montana 58. Idaho State, with 51, and Weber State, with 50, were the only other schools to reach 50.