NEW ORLEANS (March 5, 2009) - The George Mason men's cross country team earned All-Academic Team honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the organization announced on Thursday. The Patriots earned the award on the strength of a 3.28 cumulative team GPA.

It is the second time in the past three seasons that George Mason has earned the award. The Patriots also received All-Academic Team honors following the 2006 men's cross country season. Last year, the team narrowly missed ranking among the top academic teams in the country. That narrow miss helped serve as a motivating factor for the team.

"We're certainly very proud of the accomplishments of our student-athletes from this past fall both in the classroom and on the cross country course and this is a nice validation of their efforts in the academic arena." Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Andrew Gerard

"We're certainly very proud of the accomplishments of our student-athletes from this past fall both in the classroom and on the cross country course and this is a nice validation of their efforts in the academic arena," said George Mason Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Andrew Gerard. "We missed earning the honor last year by the slimmest of margins and the athletes have been reminding me about it for a year, so I know they had that extra motivation this year. It's like a distance runner losing a 10k race by a lean at the wire - the next time out they generally make sure it won't happen again! Our Academic Support staff, Cheryl Hunte, George Reese and Dr. Deborah Wilson, has also been instrumental in making this happen, so, as a team and coaching staff, we would like to thank them for all of their efforts as well."

A record total of 110 Division I men's programs received the USTFCCCA's All-Academic Team honors this year compared to 98 schools earning the honor last season. Thirty-five percent of all Division I institutions (315) who sponsor men's cross country received the honor. In addition, seven of the top 10 and 14 of the top 20 teams in the championship field at this year's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were named USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams.

For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, they must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Meet. The team must also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative grade point average.