The Big Ten conference bills itself as, "the preeminent collection of institutions in the nation, where the pursuit of academic excellence prevailed as the definitive goal."  

When it comes to balancing academics and swimming that appears to be true.  All twenty-three Big Ten swimming and diving teams earned CSCAA Scholar All-America status for achieving grade points averages of 3.0 or better in the Fall semester.  Not to be outdone, the 100% of men's and women's teams in Ivy League, University Athletic Association and Big East Conference made the list.

Additionally, each of the women's teams in the American Athletic Conference, Conference-USA and Big 12 Conference posted GPA's of 3.0 or better as did each of the men's teams in the Mid-American Conference.

All told, 461 teams were recognized for their achievements in the classroom.  Over 60% of the 134 men's and women's conferences placed more than half of their teams on the honor roll.

This year marks the first time the CSCAA has compared conferences academically and Executive Director Joel Shinofield hopes the results will help change shape perceptions about college athletes and highlights the fact that in Power 5 conferences 88% of women's and 79% of men's teams were above 3.0.  "This illustrates that even at the highest, most competitive levels, swimmers and divers truly are students first."