The Valparaiso University men’s golf program continued its tradition of academic excellence during the 2020-2021 season.  

Head coach Dave Gring’s program has once again earned Presidents’ Special Recognition honors as the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) released its outstanding team academic award recipients on Friday.

Valpo earned Presidents’ Special Recognition by virtue of finishing the year with a team grade point average of 3.5 or above. This marks the 11^th consecutive year that the team has garnered academic recognition from the GCAA.

Valpo’s tradition of excellence in the classroom was highlighted by finishing as the academic national champion in 2015-16 with a GPA that ranked first among all Division-I men’s golf programs in the nation. This season, the program won the Valpo Athletics Team Academic Award.

In addition, seven Valpo men’s golfers were named to this year’s Missouri Valley Conference Academic Honor Roll, led by 2020-21 MVC Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine), who also achieved the MVC Elite 17 Award and was named CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-District. On the course, Valpo finished 2020-21 with the second-best single-season team scoring average in the program’s modern history.