Our student-athletes demonstrate the same tenacity in the classroom as they do during competition, and we know our accomplished coaches play an essential role in helping our Spiders succeed. It makes us cheer a little louder when the NCAA recognizes their hard work, too — like this week when five of our head coaches were placed in the top 10 percent of all teams based on academic progress data.

The NCAA Public Recognition Award recognized these Spider coaches for setting a positive example:

• Marty Beall, women’s soccer
• Adam Decker, men's golf
• Lori Taylor, women’s cross country and track
• Matt Barany, women’s swimming
• Steve Taylor, men’s cross country

Congratulations to all of our coaches and student-athletes who make us proud to be Spiders!