GORHAM, Maine   –  With a combined grade point average of 3.32, the University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics has finished second in the 2022-2023 Little East Conference Presidents' Cup.
 
Established in the 2009-2010 academic year, the Presidents' Cup measures an institution's overall academic performance in the 21 sports sponsored by the Little East Conference. Each of the Little East's nine primary institutions calculates the cumulative GPA for its student-athletes that competed in the league's 21 championship-sponsored sports and the institution with the highest cumulative grade point average is awarded the Presidents' Cup. 
 
Another highlight to a successful 2022-2023 academic year, Southern Maine Huskies' teams and student-athletes have previously been recognized for runner-up finishes in the LEC's Sportsmanship Cup and the Commissioner's Cup.  The Huskies' compete in the Little East in the following 19 sports:  men's cross country, women's cross country, volleyball, field hockey, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's basketball, men's basketball, women's indoor track & field, men's indoor track & field, baseball, softball, golf, men's outdoor track & field, women's outdoor track & field, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse.
 
Continuing to achieve its goal of excellence in competition along with academic success, USM finished second in the LEC Commissioners' Cup standings with a scoring average of 6.26 points.  The Huskies' second place finish in the Commissioner's Cup -  the LEC's top honor for overall institutional athletic performance among the conference's nine primary institutions in its championship sports – marks the second consecutive academic year that the Huskies have placed second. The 2022-2023 academic year was highlighted by first place finishes by Huskies' field hockey, women's soccer, women's indoor track and field and women's outdoor track and field.
 
The Sportsmanship Cup is newest institutional honor sponsored by the Little East Conference. Huskies' Athletics was the inaugural winner of the award in 2021-2022.  The Huskies finished LEC Sportsmanship Cup standings with a scoring average of 6.66 across their 19 LEC sports.  Eleven of USM's teams ranked in the top three in voting, and the Huskies were the top-ranked program in baseball, field hockey, men's soccer and women's basketball.  Additionally, 15 of the Huskies' 19 programs were in the top four. 
 
Among the academic highlights, four University of Southern Maine Huskies' teams earned 2022-2023 Little East Conference Team Academic Awards, which is given to the team with the highest grade point average (GPA) during the current academic year among each of the Little East's 21 championship sport offerings.  Huskies' field hockey, men's cross country, men's indoor track & field and men's outdoor track & field led the way for Southern Maine.   Three USM student-athletes recently received the highest academic honor, earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-America accolades at the conclusion of 2022-23: track & field's Sophia Slovenski, Ben Drummey and wrestling's Jake Peavey.
 
Across all sports and competition leagues, University of Southern Maine's ~450 student-athletes combined for a department grade point average of 3.23, and 20 of the Huskies' 22 teams had team GPAs of 3.0 or higher.  Two hundred twenty-four USM student-athletes were named to the LEC Academic Honor for the 2023 spring semester.
 
Committed to excellence on and off of the field of competition, USM Athletics places emphasis on its Five Pillars of Huskies' Athletics: Academic Excellence, Athletic Achievement, Personal Growth, Professional Development and Service to Community.  As a department, Huskies' Athletics has had a department GPA above 3.0 since the 2017-2018 academic year, and has finished second in the President's Cup consecutively in 2021-22, and 2022-23.
 
About the Little East Conference
The Little East Conference (LEC) was formed in 1986 when six public institutions gathered to create a single sport athletic conference, and has expanded into what is now New England's premier athletic conference for public institutions in NCAA Division III. The LEC features 21 championship sports and sponsors quality competition for our student-athletes, while following the Division III mission of "passion, responsibility, sportsmanship and citizenship."
 
The Little East consists of nine primary institutions that encompass all six New England states – Castleton University (Vt.), Eastern Connecticut State University, Keene State College (N.H.), UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, Plymouth State University (N.H.), Rhode Island College, University of Southern Maine, and Western Connecticut State University.
 
 
-cac-