Click here for a complete list of South Alabama’s 2009-10 Sun Belt Conference academic honorees

NEW ORLEANS – A total of 89 University of South Alabama student-athletes were recognized by the Sun Belt Conference office for their academic accomplishments last year with the release of the league’s annual academic honors Wednesday.

A total of 40 student-athletes made the Commissioner’s List, which recognizes individuals who maintained a 3.5 grade-point average or better during the 2009-10 academic year, with another 49 named to the Academic Honor Roll for posting a 3.0-3.49 GPA last year.

“As a department, we have high expectations for excellence in competition and in the classroom,” said South Alabama Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann.  “We are very proud of our student-athletes who have achieved at a level that is not only recognized by our department, but also considered among the elite in the Sun Belt Conference.”

Each of the school’s 17 programs contributed to the total, with the softball (13), soccer (12) and volleyball (10) teams all recording double-digit totals.  In addition, the men’s golf (eight) and women’s golf (six) programs had all but one member of their roster recognized, while women’s tennis saw four of six members make the lists.  The Jaguar football team had a school-high seven student-athletes named to the Commissioner’s List, while softball and men’s cross country/track and field each had seven individuals make the Honor Roll to lead USA.

In fact, five USA programs maintained a team grade-point average above a 3.0 in 2009-10, while 161 student-athletes had a 3.0 or higher for at least one of the two semesters.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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