NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference has announced the 22 teams that have been recognized with 2016-17 Team Academic Excellence Awards for having the highest collective grade-point averages in each conference sport. The Butler women's golf team excelled in the classroom with a 3.76 team grade-point average, and therefore were honored with the recognition.
 
Nine different schools had at least one team honored, with DePaul leading the way with eight certificates. The Blue Demons had a league-best six in 2015-16. Seton Hall had four teams recognized, followed by Villanova with three. St. John's boasted two honorees, while Butler, Creighton, Marquette, Temple and Denver rounded out the award winners with one nod apiece.
 
The winners were chosen based on the 2016-17 grade-point average of each student-athlete who appeared on an institution's roster as of the last contest of the championship segment in each conference-sponsored sport.
 

Sport	School	GPA
Baseball	Seton Hall	3.506
Men's Basketball	Villanova	3.172
Women's Basketball	DePaul	3.55
Men's Cross Country	Marquette	3.499
Women's Cross Country	DePaul	3.798
Men's Indoor Track & Field	Villanova	3.317
Women's Indoor Track & Field	DePaul	3.587
Men's Outdoor Track & Field	Villanova	3.317
Women's Outdoor Track & Field	DePaul	3.587
Field Hockey	Temple	3.52
Men's Golf	Seton Hall	3.536
Women's Golf	Butler	3.76
Men's Lacrosse	St. John's	3.42
Women's Lacrosse	Denver	3.48
Men's Soccer	DePaul	3.512
Women's Soccer	St. John's	3.73
Softball	DePaul	3.512
Men's Swimming and Diving	Seton Hall	3.378
Women's Swimming and Diving	Seton Hall	3.516
Men's Tennis	Creighton	3.70
Women's Tennis	DePaul	3.699
Volleyball	DePaul	3.576