Champions In The Classroom, Community, and in Competition

Complete Honors Release (PDF) | Season In-Review Video.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- With another record-setting season in the books, the Eagles retain their hold on the most MAC Championships of any school, since entering the Mid-American Conference in 1973, with 153 total championships. The women's athletic program finished sixth in the battle for the Jacoby Trophy, while the men's athletic program turned in an eighth-place showing in the race for the Reese Trophy.

Academics

For MAC honors, EMU racked up 166 Academic All-MAC awards.
The Eagles closed the Winter 2021 semester with a semester GPA of 3.195 and a cumulative GPA of 3.369, for the 23rd straight semester with a GPA above 3.0.
Of the more than 400 student-athletes enrolled at EMU in the winter, 310 student-athletes (70%) posted a 3.0-or-higher GPA for the term. Furthermore, a total of 336 student-athletes (76%) hold a cumulative GPA above 3.0.
12 teams posted a GPA of 3.0-or-higher (75%) in the Winter 2021 semester, and 14 teams had a 3.0-or-higher cumulative GPA (88%)
A total of three EMU standouts were selected for the prestigious weekly MAC Scholar-Athlete Award.
In total, seven EMU student-athletes earned Academic All-District honors from CoSIDA. Alia Frederick (Soccer), Mike Van Hoeven (Football), Chad Ryland (Football), Bethany Berger (W. Swim & Dive), Mike Monahan (Baseball), Taige Bryant (M. Track), and Chris Devaney (M. Track) all too home the honors.
Mike Monahan (Baseball) and Mike Van Hoeven (Football) collected earned Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA.
The gymnastics program had 18 student-athletes earn Academic All-American status, while the team ranked 12th in the country out of the participating 75 institutions with a collective grade point average (GPA) of 3.7990.
The swimming and diving team was named a Scholar All-America team for the fall 2020 semester by the College Swim & Dive Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). It marked EMU's 19th consecutive semester as a Scholar All-America Team, dating back to the spring 2011 semester, after finishing the fall 2020 semester with a 3.71 GPA.
The EMU track & field team earned United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honors for the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. Both teams, as well as 17 total individuals, received all-academic distinction.
Men's golf team earned President's Special Recognition by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). The squad was recognized for having a 3.57 grade point average over the fall and winter semesters. To be recognized by the GCAA, teams need to achieve a GPA of 3.0-or-better. With EMU's team GPA being above 3.5, they were among the 41 other Division I schools that received the President's Special Recognition.
For the 17th consecutive season, the volleyball program was recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and the United States Marine Corps for the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award. Eastern Michigan ended the 2020-21 academic year with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.33.
Women's golfers Maria Connelly and Anna Watson were named All-American Scholars by the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA).
Three EMU student-athletes participated in the NCAA Career in Sports Forum, May 26-28. Cali Harden of the gymnastics program, Courtnie Lewis from women's basketball and Luisa Pelayo of the tennis team, were all selected to attend.

Athletics

Athletic department ranked 140th in the 2020-21 Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup Division I Standings (as of June 30, 2021). The total was the sixth-best in the MAC this season.
Overall, EMU captured three MAC Championships in men's cross country, men's indoor track & field, and gymnastics.
EMU won 14 individual MAC titles in gymnastics, track & field, and swimming & diving.
Eastern had 24 individual student-athlete NCAA Qualifiers.
For their efforts, 57 EMU student-athletes earned All-MAC honors (25 - first team, 28 - second team, 4 - third team).
EMU student-athletes earned 31 Player of the Week accolades in 11 of EMU's 17 conference sports.
EMU coaches were named MAC Coach of the Year on three occasions this year in the following sports: men's cross country, men's indoor track & field, and women's diving.
Two different student-athletes were named MAC Freshman of the Year.
Two different student-athletes earned MAC Most Valuable Performer accolades.
Head Coach Sue Parks became the first female coach in MAC history to mentor a men's championship cross country or track team team. Parks also earned MAC XC and Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year honors.
Football player Steven Nielsen was selected the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 Canadian Football League Global Draft.
Former football player Pat O'Connor and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers emerged victorious in Super Bowl LV. O'Connor joins the company of just seven other former Eastern student-athletes that have captured a Super Bowl ring.
The gymnastics team qualified for postseason action for the first time since 2017, earning a trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala. for NCAA Regionals.
Molly Parris became EMU's first MAC vault champion for since 1988
With her appearance at the NCAA Swim & Dive Championships, Bethany Berger became the 15th Eagle in program history to qualify for the sport's marquee event. In addition, she was the ninth diver, and first since Alli Shereda in 2018 (3-meter), to compete at the meet.
Bethany Berger swept the MAC Championship diving events to become the first Eagle to take both diving events since Danielle Hulvey did so at the 2013 championships.
Volleyball's Franki Strefling was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Midwest All-Region First Team. Strefling is the fifth Eagle to earn the AVCA honor and the first EMU volleyball student-athlete to earn first team honors since Roxanne Munch made the All-North Central Region First Team in 1989.

Community

EMU SAAC encouraged and promoted Diversity and Inclusion week on campus by planning activities to engage students during the week-long initiative.
Members of EMU SAAC helped organize a voter registration drive at EMU to get students out to vote in 2020. The goal was to challenge every eligible member of Eastern's varsity sports to be registered to vote in the upcoming elections.
Football student-athlete Tariq Speights helped organize a Black Lives Matter rally that involved both athletic departments of EMU and Michigan. This was about using their platform as college athletes, opening eyes, sharing a cause, and bringing awareness to racial inequality in this country.
Speights also helped host a MLK Day March in Ypsilanti of Student-Athletes. The celebration, which consisted of both an in-person march and virtual panel discussion.
The volleyball program was recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for exercising its civic duty through participation in the democratic process with the inaugural AVCA Voting Community Award. To receive this award, 100 percent of eligible student-athletes and coaches had to participate in the 2020 Presidential election.
Washtenaw County's COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic-East is located inside the EMU Convocation Center. Vaccinations have been taking place at this location since Dec. 18, 2020, when the county began using the building to vaccinate health care workers and other essential workers. The site currently vaccinates up to 1,500 people a day, depending on available vaccine supply allocated by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

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