KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Southwestern University men's basketball team was named a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award winner Wednesday as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the second annual 2013-14 Team Academic Excellence Awards.

The Pirates were one of just two Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference schools to earn the team honor in the second year of existence of the award. The award recognizes outstanding academic achievement by teams with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better during the 2013-14 season.

In order to earn a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, institutions in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA Division I and II, must count the grade point averages of all men's student-athletes who competed during the 2013-14 season.

About the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)
Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. For additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, go to www.nabc.org.