The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) unveiled its 2025‑26 Team Academic Excellence Awards and Honors Court on July 15, spotlighting programs that posted a collective GPA of at least 3.0 during the 2024‑25 academic year.
Within the Horizon League, only Purdue Fort Wayne and Indiana University‑Indianapolis managed to meet the stringent threshold, earning the Team Academic Excellence Award for their squads.
Award Winners Highlight Academic Commitment
The recognition extends beyond teams, as individual athletes who maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher are selected for the NABC Honors Court, a distinction that celebrates scholarly achievement alongside athletic performance.
This year, three members of Purdue Fort Wayne’s roster — Chris Morgan, DeAndre Craig Jr. and Mikale Stevenson — joined the Honors Court, underscoring the program’s emphasis on balancing classroom rigor with competitive play.
Morgan’s inclusion marks his second NABC honor, while Craig adds a second consecutive academic accolade and also collected College Sports Communicators Academic All‑District honors, further highlighting the university’s academic strengths.
The broader impact of the NABC awards is evident in the scale of the recognition: more than 2,300 players across nearly 400 programs were celebrated in the 2025‑26 cycle, reflecting a growing culture of academic excellence in college basketball.
A Legacy of Scholarship in Mid‑America
The announcements reaffirm the NABC’s commitment to fostering student‑athletes who excel both on the hardwood and in the classroom, a vision that resonates strongly across the Midwest’s basketball landscape.