The Academic Standard

When it comes to academics, Pace University has many student-athletes who raise the bar in the classroom. The Northeast-10 conference remains one of the highest achieving conferences in academics throughout the NCAA, and in the past year, Pace Athletics has earned several academic accolades.

During the 2023–24 academic year, Pace student-athletes recorded a combined 3.37 cumulative grade point average. Overall, they earned 651 spots on the Northeast-10 Academic Honor Roll, during the fall and spring semesters combined. In the spring semester alone, 45 student-athletes finished with a 4.0 GPA to earn Academic Excellence distinction after 37 recorded a 4.0 for the fall semester.

The Setters also captured 26 Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference awards, with women’s lacrosse and baseball leading the way with four selections each. In addition, the Pace women’s basketball and baseball teams captured the Northeast-10 Team Academic Excellence Awards, given to the NE-10 programs with the highest cumulative grade point average in each sport. Women's basketball held the highest GPA among NE-10 programs with a 3.659 average, while the Setters’ baseball squad had the highest GPA of all baseball teams in the conference at 3.473.

Regarding major awards, two athletes from each school in the Northeast-10 are nominated for male and female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Noelle Meij (field hockey) and Patrick Gleason (baseball) represented Pace for this year's ballot following their impressive semesters. Pace also collected 24 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Honors—five softball, four men’s lacrosse, four women’s lacrosse, four women’s basketball, four football, and three men’s basketball.

In the fall, the Northeast-10 Sport Excellence Award was given to Krista Dietz (field hockey) for her significant contributions on the field and stellar performance in the classroom. The junior managed to take home the award after her All-American season that led the Blue and Gold to an NCAA Tournament bid.

From the softball team, Brianna Shea was selected for the NCAA Division II 50th Anniversary Scholarship. Awarded to student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in athletics and professional achievement, Shea exemplifies an outstanding mentality on and off the field.

Aside from individual achievements, Pace captured an esteemed honor from the NCAA. In January, the NCAA announced the recipients of the President’s Award for Academic Excellence. In another showcase of the Setters’ academic talents, Pace earned the prestigious honor after maintaining an academic success rate of 90 percent.

Overall, Pace continues to solidify itself as one of the leading academic performers in the conference.