KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Henderson State's men's basketball team was recently recognized as one of the top academic teams in the country at any level when the Reddies received the National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award for the second straight season.
The award, which was created by the NABC Committee on Academics, recognizes outstanding academic achievement by a team with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better.
In order to earn a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, institutions in the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA must count the grade point averages of all men's student-athletes who competed during the 2017-18 season. Henderson's final GPA for the 2017-18 school year was 3.05.
"Academic success continues to be the cornerstone of our basketball program at Henderson," said Henderson head coach Jimmy Elgas. "We are so proud of our team's effort and commitment to excel in the classroom, which will lead to success on the court, and most importantly, life accomplishments when these guys leave the program.
"We are so very thankful for the academic environment created by our athletics director Shawn Jones, the countless hours put in by our athletic academic advisor Chanda Hooten, the support of our NCAA faculty athletic representative Dr. Patrick Wempe and the many faculty that go the extra mile with our players."
Under the direction of coach Elgas, the Reddies have compiled four consecutive semesters with a GPA of 3.0 or better, including a 3.46 mark this past spring to lead all men's teams in the department. The team boasts eight players who have earned a perfect 4.0 since Elgas' arrival.
In the past three seasons, the Reddies have a 100 percent graduation rate.
"During his three years in charge of our program, coach Elgas has shown time and time again a commitment to helping our student-athletes achieve success both on and off of the court," Jones said. "This latest award is a testament to both his vision for our program and our student-athletes' commitment to excellence in everything they do."
Henderson was one of just two schools in the state of Arkansas at any level, and one of three schools from the Great American Conference, to earn a 2017-18 NABC Team Academic Excellence Award.
New OBU women's tennis coach
finalizes first recruiting class
ARKADELPHIA -- Ouachita Baptist head women's tennis coach Rachel Jones recently announced the signing of three new student-athletes to the Tiger tennis program.
The newcomers are Lindsay Gills, of Greenwood; Haylee Cannon, from Denison, Texas; and Taylor Hansard, from Fort Stockton, Texas.
Gills was the only signee from Arkansas. She was a 2016 6A All-State selection.
A four-year varsity player at Greenwood, Gills was a 2016 6A-West Conference doubles champion, named Best of the River Valley All-Star Preps in 2017 and 2018, and won the Heart of a Bulldog Award in 2015 and 2016. She graduated as a distinguished graduate with an honors diploma, ranked in the top 10 percent of her graduating class and is a member of the National Honors Society.
Cannon was the team captain her senior season, finishing with a perfect 18-0 season in both mixed doubles and line one girls singles. She was a district champion and an Academic All-State winner.
Hansard became the first female tennis player to be named the District 4-4A "Newcomer of the Year" during her freshman season. She was a top 75 player in Texas and a top 100 player in the gulf coast region.
OBU men set soccer schedule
ARKADELPHIA -- The reigning men's soccer Great American Conference Tournament champions released their 2018 schedule this week.
The Ouachita Baptist 2018 schedule will consist of eight home games and eight away contests. The Tigers will also play in three exhibition games at the end of August to get ready for the regular season.
The Tigers will play four home-and-home series this season, three of which will come against fellow GAC schools Harding, Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene. The lone non-conference home-and-home series will be against Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla.
Ouachita will begin the season with three scrimmages on the road against Northeast Texas Community College on Aug. 20 and at University of the Ozarks on Aug. 26 with one scrimmage at home against Hendrix College on Aug. 23 at 4 p.m.
The Tigers kickoff the regular season on a two-match road trip. The first contest of the regular season will be against Dallas Baptist on Aug. 30 before they meet Rogers State on Sept. 1.
The first official home game for the Tigers is against Delta State on Sept. 7 at 4 p.m.
Ouachita is scheduled to open up GAC play with back-to-back road games against Southern Nazarene on Sept. 20 and Oklahoma Baptist on Sept. 22.
Sports on 07/13/2018