Moon Township, Pa. - A total of five athletic programs from Robert Morris University posted the highest team grade point average (GPA) in the Northeast Conference during the 2010-11 academic year, while overall the department posted the second highest GPA among the league's 12 institutions as the conference announced the 2010-11 NEC Institutional Academic Awards Thursday.

The 20 sports that are members of the NEC from Robert Morris combined to post an overall GPA of 3.256, just shy of taking home an award that was claimed by Saint Francis (Pa.) for the third straight year. The 21 athletic programs for the Red Flash that compete in the NEC posted a 3.270 GPA.

The NEC Institutional Academic Award is presented annually to the NEC member which attains the highest overall institutional grade point average amongst student-athletes competing in sports sponsored by the NCAA Division I conference.

The NEC currently sponsors a total of 23 sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's bowling, men's and women's cross country, football, field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.

Taking home NEC Team GPA Awards for the 2010-11 academic year from Robert Morris were women's cross country, football, men's lacrosse, softball and women's tennis. The five team GPA awards by RMU are the most by an NEC institution.

The Colonial women's tennis squad posted a 3.630 team GPA last year, the second highest among any program in the NEC and trailing only the St. Francis (N.Y.) women's golf team, which finished with a team GPA of 3.704.

The RMU women's cross country team posted a 3.570 team GPA in 2010-11, while softball finished with a 3.560 GPA. The Colonial men's lacrosse program earned a 3.120 team GPA, while football finished at 2.900.

Overall, the NEC's 4,800+ student-athletes averaged a 3.133 GPA for the 2010-11 academic year and 11 of the league's 12 core member institutions finished the year with at least a 3.0 GPA.