NDNU earns Hawaii National Bank PacWest Academic Achievement Award

Notre Dame de Namur University athletic program earns Hawaii National Bank PacWest Academic Achievement Award

HONOLULU, HI – Winning conference championships in the arena of competition is just one part of the college athlete’s experience.

Ranking among the league leaders when the competition occurs in the classroom is the second part of the student-athlete equation.

This year’s answer to that equation is Notre Dame de Namur University.

The Belmont, CA, school is the recipient of the inaugural Pacific West Conference Academic Achievement Award sponsored by Hawaii National Bank. NDNU claimed the honor after its students-athletes boasted the highest cumulative grade point average among the seven member institutions.

NDNU student-athletes registered a 3.36 cumulative GPA for the 2007-08 academic year.

PacWest Commissioner Bob Hogue announced the award on Thursday, June 26, from the conference’s administrative headquarters in Honolulu, HI.

"We're extremely proud of the PacWest student-athletes at Notre Dame de Namur,” Hogue stated. “The Argonauts proved that they are winners in the classroom as well as on the playing field, on the courts and in the gym.”

The runner-up for the honor was Grand Canyon University which sported a 3.064 GPA.  Third-place went to BYU-Hawaii, the top school on the islands, with a 3.06.

The average grade point average for the PacWest’s entire student-athlete population was an outstanding 3.03.

"Academic achievement is paramount in the PacWest," Hogue said. "We are proud of our student-athletes and thrilled that Hawaii National Bank has chosen to help sponsor this important award so we may showcase the balance between academics and athletics at the NCAA Division II level.”

Hawaii National Bank is a closely held community bank that has earned a reputation for its excellent service to small businesses. The bank opened its doors on September 19, 1960, with record-breaking opening-day deposits. Operating from a two-story building in the Chinatown neighborhood of downtown Honolulu, it was the largest of 134 banks opening in the United States that year.

Ever since, Hawaii National Bank has been one of the keystone institutions of Hawaii finance, providing a wide range of services to small business customers and individual account holders. The bank boasts 16 locations in Hawaii - 12 on Oahu, and two each on Maui and the Big Island.

NDNU Athletic Director Josh Doody will be presented with the 2007-08 Academic Achievement Award for display at his institution during an event being planned for the near future. Details of the event are currently being planned and will be announced at a later date.

In May, Hogue honored the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo with the 2007-08 Commissioner's Cup, emblematic of outstanding athletic achievement during the year.

The season of competition may be over, but several more awards from the PacWest will be unveiled this summer, including the inaugural PacWest Community Engagement Award; the Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards for each of the PacWest’s 11 sports; the Men’s and Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year; the Men’s and Women’s Athlete of the Year; and the PacWest Academic Honor Roll.