WS Chronicle

SALISBURY – Livingstone College’s athletic department stresses that its student-athletes are students first – and the awards keep proving it.

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) awarded the Blue Bears football team with the Highest Team Academic Award for the 2018-2019 year. This is the second consecutive year the team has won the academic honor.

“This is a tremendous honor for our student-athletes,” said Head Coach Daryl Williams. “We are very pleased and proud of our student-athletes’ academic achievements. The coaching staff does a great job of helping them to stay focused and pointed in achieving their college degree.”

This award is given annually to the team in each of the CIAA’s sponsored sports with the highest cumulative grade point average.  The Blue Bears football team’s cumulative GPA was 2.89.

“We are continuously proving that our student-athletes take their education seriously,” said Livingstone President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr. “We are proud of them for focusing on their education first and are grateful to the coaching staff for guiding them in the right direction on and off the field.”

The football team first won the highest GPA award for the 2017-2018 academic year.

The CIAA Highest Team GPA Award was renamed prior to this academic year in honor of former Bowie State University faculty athletic representative, Dr. Freddie Vaughns, who died in 2015.

The Livingstone College men’s basketball team also earned the CIAA Highest GPA Award with a cumulative average of 3.2 for this academic year and was recognized during the CIAA tournament in February. It was the team’s fourth time earning the distinction.

The college’s golf team has also won the award twice.

“These academic achievements by our student-athletes validate the holistic college environment we foster at Livingstone, encouraging our students to be well-rounded with education at the center of it all,” said Lamonte Massie-Sampson, athletic director. “Our coaches do a wonderful job in stressing academics first and in implementing best practices to help the athletes succeed.”

Livingstone College, affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, is a private, historically black institution located in Salisbury, N.C., and is secured by a strong commitment to quality instruction. Through a Christian-based environment suitable for learning, it provides excellent liberal arts and religious education programs for students from all ethnic backgrounds designed to develop their potential for leadership and service to a global community. For more information, visit www.livingstone.edu.