By Lexi Naegele, NAIA Athletics Communications and Media Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 1,862 teams that have earned the distinction for Scholar-Teams for the 2017-18 academic year.

The Missouri Baptist University’s women’s tennis team took the lead this year with a 3.90 team GPA, as Tabor College (Kan.) women’s tennis and Wayland Baptist (Tex.) women’s golf followed right behind with a 3.88 collective GPA.

The women's golf team from Siena Heights University (Mich.) finished close behind the three with a 3.84 GPA, earning the fourth place spot. Rounding out the top five was the women's Division I basketball team for Southwestern Christian University (Okla.) with a 3.84.

St. Ambrose (Iowa) led the pack with 23 teams represented on the list. Cumberland’s (Ky.) was next with 21 teams making the list.

Morningside (Iowa) and Concordia (Neb.) added their own 20 teams as scholars. While Hastings (Neb.), Indiana Wesleyan, Lindenwood – Belleville (Ill.), Northwestern (Iowa), and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) all contributed 19 Scholar-Teams.

For a team to be considered for the NAIA Scholar-Team award, it must have a minimum 3.0-grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) as defined by the institution. The team grade point average includes all eligible varsity student-athletes.

For more information on NAIA awards, including the Scholar-Team honor, click here.

2017-18 NAIA Scholar-Teams (PDFs) Sorted by Institution | Sorted by Sport