The University of Maine women's basketball program continues to blend athletic competitiveness with academic distinction, as evidenced by its latest placement in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25.
In the 2025‑26 honor roll, the Black Bears ranked seventh overall among Division I teams, posting a cumulative grade point average of 3.777, a metric that reflects the performance of every scholarship‑eligible player across the entire season.
A Legacy of Scholarship
This achievement marks the ninth occasion in the past twelve years that Maine has earned a spot on the WBCA Academic Top 25, underscoring a consistent pattern of scholarly excellence that stretches back over a decade.
Moreover, the program has cracked the top five in four of the last six seasons, a testament to the coaching staff's ability to recruit and develop student‑athletes who excel both on the hardwood and in the classroom.
The honor roll is not limited to Division I; it also celebrates teams from Divisions II and III, as well as NAIA and two‑year colleges, all of which must meet stringent GPA thresholds to qualify.
Maine's previous peak came in the 2020‑21 season, when the Black Bears topped the nation with a 3.90 cumulative GPA, a benchmark that still stands as the highest in the award's history.
The 2025‑26 edition represents the 31st consecutive year that the WBCA has published its Academic Top 25, a milestone that highlights the growing emphasis on academic integrity within collegiate women's basketball.
As the Black Bears look ahead to the upcoming campaign, the blend of on‑court ambition and classroom dedication positions them as a model for student‑athlete success in the modern collegiate landscape.