LEICESTER, Mass. – For a record third consecutive semester, the Becker College men's ice hockey program was awarded the President's Academic Cup, given to the athletic program with the highest cumulative GPA in the previous semester at Becker.
An award normally presented on Homecoming Day, the President's Academic Cup went virtual this semester, awarded during Becker College's Friends and Family Weekend on Oct. 17 over Zoom.
Becker College President, Dr. Nancy Crimmin and Vice President of Student Affairs and Director of Athletics, Frank Millerick, joined the Zoom and assisted in the presentation of the Cup.
"I'm so proud of all our student-athletes because there has been such a level of commitment this semester in such extraordinary times," said Dr. Crimmin. "We've come together and worked together this semester and I'm just so proud of our athletes."
The men's ice hockey three-peat in the President's Academic Cup comes with the team's GPA improving semester-by-semester, including a leap to a cumulative team GPA of 3.50 in Spring 2020.
"Any athlete understands winning and knows championships are hard to come by…," said Millerick. "So, the fact that men's ice hockey has done well over a three (semester) period is certainly a testament to their academic success."
The President's Academic Cup competition is heating up between the men's and women's ice hockey programs as the men's team nearly held on to their semester GPA advantage over the women's program.
"I'm very proud of all the guys and I'm very lucky to be a part of this group," said Head Coach Mike Young. "This is the third time in a row for us but the first time we won the Cup… it was largely done in a semester without a head coach and mostly on the reliance of academic advisors, and I think it says a lot about the culture of the team, a culture that dates all the way back to Coach (Steve) Hoar."
Other administrators, staff, coaches, friends, and family joined in on the call to support the three-time President's Academic Cup winners.
"All our coaches stress academics to their athletes," Young added. "I know how smart a lot of our student-athletes are, so for us to hold this three times in a row is astonishing. We have our work cut out for us this semester but we take a lot of pride in our academics, so I'm hopeful we can stave off everyone for another semester and win our fourth in a row."
The President's Academic Cup win for men's ice hockey moves them into a tie for the most times winning the Cup with the softball program. Both teams have claimed the Cup four times since its inception in 2012.
