KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Thursday, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) continued releasing its postseason academic accolades when it announced its eighth annual Team Academic Excellence Awards, created by the NABC Committee on Academics.

Among the list of recipients was the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team, which is receiving the award for the first time in program history. As a team, the Lions compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.009 during 2019-20.

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Award recognizes outstanding academic achievement by a team with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better for the 2019-20 season. In order to earn the award, institutions in the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA must count the GPAs of all men's basketball student-athletes who competed during the 2019-20 season.

This marks the second time this year that the Penn State Altoona men's basketball program has been recognized for its academics, as the team was also awarded the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's Peak Performer award in April for having the highest GPA among the league's men's basketball teams.

"As a coach, you strive to not only make a difference on the court, but also off of it, and one of my goals when I took over this program four years ago was to get our team GPA to a 3.0. Getting that accomplished this season has been one of my prouder moments as a coach," said Penn State Altoona men's basketball head coach David McGreal. "It was a great season for us athletically, but garnering the AMCC Peak Performer award and now earning the national accolades from the NABC have definitely put this team in the history books, being the first men's basketball team here to earn these prestigious awards."

To read the NABC's release of its 2019-20 Team Academic Excellence Awards, go HERE.

About the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)

Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. For additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, go to www.nabc.com.