By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's basketball team has received the Team Academic Excellence Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2016-17 season. A total of 114 college teams from all three NCAA divisions, both NAIA divisions and the NJCAA qualified for the award.

Willamette was one of two Northwest Conference teams to be honored. It was the third consecutive season that the Bearcats earned the award.

"We expect our players to compete and #bNOWn on and off the court," Willamette Head Coach Kip Ioane said. "This award is a testament to our guys matching that expectation in the classroom. As a staff, we couldn't be more proud of their academic work ethic, and we continue to be impressed daily by their ability to handle all that Willamette University demands of them."

In order to qualify for the the Team Academic Excellence Award the cumulative grade point average for a team had to be at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Each team's GPA included all players who competed during the season.