Richmond, Va. – Three teams of Elon University athletics were honored as Team Academic Excellence Awards winners, as announced by the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) today. Elon's men's basketball, women's soccer and track & field programs were each recognized for having the highest collective grade point average in each of the 22 sports sponsored by the CAA during the 2023-24 academic year.
 
The team GPA is a calculation of the grade point average of each student-athlete who appeared on an institution's roster throughout the final day of their respective championship seasons during the 2023-24 academic year.
 
This is the sixth time that Elon has had multiple teams honored in the seven-year history of the league award. For men's basketball and women's soccer, it is the fourth time that both programs have been a recipient of the award, while track & field is earning the award for the second time. The women's soccer team has earned the honor for three consecutive years and men's basketball has been named in each of Billy Taylor's two seasons at the helm of the program. Elon's historical CAA Team Academic Excellence Award winners are listed below.
 
2023-24: Men's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Track & Field
2022-23: Men's Basketball, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer
2021-22: Football, Women's Soccer, Softball, Track & Field
2020-21: No honorees
2019-20: Not presented due to COVID-19
2018-19: Men's Basketball, Women's Soccer
2017-18: Men's Cross Country, Men's Golf
2016-17: Men's Basketball, Men's Cross Country
 
QUOTING THE COACHES
"Elon women's soccer is proud to be the recipient of the CAA Team Academic Excellence Award for the third year running. Our group of student-athletes strive for excellence both on and off the field and work diligently every day to master their education and sport. We're truly grateful for the support and hard work of all of our academic staff and professors." – Neil Payne, women's soccer
 
"Elon men's basketball is extremely honored to win the CAA Team Academic Excellence award for the second consecutive year. As we continue to build our success on the court, it has been equally important to pursue excellence in the classroom. Our coaching staff is proud of our student-athletes for maintaining that standard. We are also very appreciative of Cayce Crenshaw and our academic support staff for providing our student-athletes with the proper tools and resources for academic success." – Billy Taylor, men's basketball
 
"The student-athletes at Elon University make it very easy to be proud of them in so many ways, and especially in two major ones – how they prepare and perform for competition in a variety of sports, and how they prepare and perform in the classroom with high academic results! They are truly outstanding. As coaches, we recognize that Cayce Crenshaw and her staff put in tireless effort and hours keeping our athletic teams on the right path in attending class, studying and preparing for exams. What a genuine and focused team effort all the way around. Keep up the great work everyone and well done Phoenix!" – Mark Elliston, track & field