PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers men's soccer team was honored with the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 2017-18 academic year, it was announced on Thursday by the organization.
The Scarlet Knights have earned the team academic award from the coaches association for the fifth-straight year and in seven of the last eight seasons.
Rutgers men's soccer was one of a total of 773 collegiate soccer teams (289 men, 484 women) who posted a 3.0 or higher grade point average during the 2017-18 academic year. Both the RU men's and women's soccer teams earned the award, one of 191 schools with both their men's and women's programs recognized.
Also during the 2017-18 academic year, men's soccer placed 10 members on the Big Ten All-Academic Team and four members of the roster earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors for achieving a grade point average of 3.7 or higher, including current Scarlet Knights
Joe Bruno (electrical engineering),
Alex Kaczynski (labor studies & employment relations) and
Brian Shushkovsky (finance).
"While winning games, fighting for Big Ten conference championships and making NCAA tournaments are important, it is equally important to place responsibility on our guys to take care of business in the classroom, as this is where our guys will find their futures following their playing careers," said head coach
Dan Donigan. "I think it speaks volumes about where we place a lot of our emphasis and priorities within our program.
"I am very proud of our student-athletes, academic advising team and our coaching staff for supporting our student-athletes in their academic careers. Great academic habits can lead to success on and off the field. This has been a philosophy of our not only our program, but Rutgers University Athletics overall."
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (
www.facebook.com/RutgersMensSoccer) and Twitter (
www.twitter.com/RUMensSoccer) for all of the latest news and updates. Fans also receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with
www.ScarletKnights.com. For additional updates, download the
Rutgers Gameday App.
- RU -
