BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University field hockey team is one of 147 NCAA Division III programs to earn the 2020 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic Team Award. The news was announced by an NFHCA press release on Monday, March 29th.

The National Academic Team Award recognizes programs that earned a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The Bears posted an impressive 3.33 GPA for the 2020 fall semester.

Kean University and MIT tied for the highest team GPA with a mark of 3.87. Third the top-five list was The College of Wooster with a 3.86 team GPA followed by Johns Hopkins University (3.84). Haverford College and Stevens Institute of Technology made the traditional “Top Five” a top six this year, as they tied for fifth-highest GPA with each team posting a 3.82 GPA.

Bridgewater State is one of ten Little East Conference (LEC) field hockey programs to earn the award. The Bears are joined by Castleton University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Keene State College, Plymouth State University, Salem State University, UMass Dartmouth, Western Connecticut State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University.

This marks the third straight year that the BSU field hockey team has earned this honor.

Earlier this month, nine Bears were named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad, and three were selected as NFHCA Scholars of Distinction.

For a full list of the 147 DIII programs, click here.