FORT MYERS, Fla. - The academic honors for the 2019-20 FGCU men's golf program continued to come in this week as the Eagles were named a Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Outstanding Team Academic Award winner. FGCU was one of 250 programs nationally among all divisions with a team grade-point-average above a 3.0 and one of only three ASUN schools to do so.

"I'm really proud of the effort our student-athletes put into their academics this past year - especially in the spring semester where they were dealt the blow of having the season canceled and the pivot to remote courses," said head coach Andrew Danna. "There is a really great foundation in place focusing on academics thanks to our terrific staff at the Hartley Academic Resource Center. When your student-athletes are finding success in the classroom, that allows them to then focus to a greater degree on improving on the course which builds the culture of your program."

The Eagles posted a program-record 3.53 GPA as a team for the spring semester. Overall for the year, FGCU had a 3.422 GPA which had them narrowly missing out on GCAA Presidents Special Recognition Honors which went to programs with a 3.5 team GPA for the year. The Green and Blue have posted 14 consecutive semesters above a 3.0 team GPA and have seen the nine straight semesters with an increasing total.

Joining FGCU from the ASUN were Liberty and North Alabama.

Earlier in June, recent graduate Doug Smith (Windermere, FL/Olympia HS) was named to the 2020 Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar Award as announced by the GCAA.

For complete coverage of the FGCU men's golf team, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_MGOLF and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com.  You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men's golf and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

HEAD COACH ANDREW DANNA:
Danna will enter his second year at the helm of the men's golf program this fall. He served the previous season as the assistant at LSU. Prior to that he was the ultra-successful head coach for six years at Lynn University where he led them to the 2018 NCAA Division II national championship and was, subsequently, chosen the David Williams National Coach of the Year. He also led the Fighting Knights to three national runner-up placements, with a third and eighth place finish in his other two seasons.
 
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships, including three men's golfers. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (#24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. In 2019-20, they ran their streak to three consecutive years leading both groups with the highest percentage of teams again receiving such high distinction (33% via 5 of 15 programs). FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--