BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University field hockey team is one of 148 NCAA Division III programs to earn the 2021 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic Team Award. The news was announced by an NFHCA press release on Monday, February 21st.

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 2021-2022 academic year. The Bears posted an impressive 3.65 GPA for the 2021 fall semester.

MIT recorded the highest team GPA with a mark of 3.86. Dean College came in second with a 3.80 team GPA. NCAA Division III National Champion, Middlebury College (3.79), and NCAA runner-up Johns Hopkins University (3.72), also appear on the top-five performers list along with Earlham College (3.79).

Bridgewater State is one of seven Little East Conference (LEC) field hockey programs to earn the award. The Bears are joined by Castleton University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Plymouth State University, Salem State University, University of Southern Maine and Westfield State University.

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

Earlier this month, 11 Bears were named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad, and two were selected as NFHCA Scholars of Distinction.