WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- On Thursday afternoon, the NEC announced its yearly Team GPA award winners. New Haven Football and Lacrosse have both achieved the highest team GPAs in the NEC for the 2025-26 academic year, marking a historic milestone for both programs. The Football team impressively earned a collective 3.28 GPA, while the Lacrosse team achieved an outstanding 3.72 collective GPA, demonstrating their exceptional dedication to academic excellence.
This Team GPA award is a testament to the hard work and commitment that student-athletes exhibit both on the field and in the classroom. It signifies the balance of athletic and academic responsibilities, showcasing the teams' ability to excel in their studies while maintaining competitive performance in their respective sports.
The football program, with
Mark Powell at the helm, has made a concentrated effort to develop the whole student-athlete through community engagement and academic success in addition the grind of playing Division I college football. Powell's Chargers placed 38 players on the NEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. Of those 38, 11 were named to the NEC Fall Commissioner's Honor Roll. In January, it was announced that
AJ Duffy (St. Augustine, Fla./Rancho Verde),
Joe Fragale (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury),
Brian Hannibal (Silver Spring, Md./James Hubert Blake), and
Pete Melle (Dallas, Tx./Dallas Jesuit College Prep) had achieved CSC Academic All-District recognition for their success in the classroom. To close out the year,
Jayden Shwed (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) was recognized as an Academic All Star by the FCS Athletic Directors Assocation and earned the Blue & Gold Excellence Award at the department of athletics' year-end ceremony.
New Haven Lacrosse, also with a first-year head coach in Kathelene Kim, saw a pair of players earn recognition from the CSC as Academic All-District when it was announced that
Helena Dunwoody (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) and
Sophia Minnion (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) had both earned that title. 32 of Kim's players were named to the NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll, with 14 named to the NEC Spring Commissioner's Honor Roll.
The accolade marks the first time in history that either the New Haven Football or Lacrosse programs have secured this honor in the NEC, highlighting a significant achievement in their academic journeys. The collective success of these teams is a reflection of a strong team culture that values education and personal growth alongside athletic prowess.
