Other Distinctions

Wednesday, January 19, 2005 |

Earned Michigan's first NCAA football national championship (1994). Albion has won more league football championships (31) and made more NCAA postseason appearances (7) than any Division III school in Michigan.

Produced five NCAA Division III national champions in track and field and 29 All-Americans in that sport since 1982.

Developed a swimming program that includes 24 Division III All-Americans for both men and women since 1984.

Made NCAA postseason appearances since 1993 in men's and women's cross country, men's basketball, football, women's soccer, men's and women's swimming, and men's and women's track and field.

Ranked #1 in NCAA Division III women's basketball in free throw shooting. The 1995-96 Britons posted a .756 percentage in 25 games.

Earned academic all-America status in cross country from the Division III Cross Country Coaches Association. The men's team maintained the highest grade point average of any Division III team in the nation during the 1997 season.

Led all collegiate athletic teams across Michigan, and all members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), regardless of competition level, in team grade point average in women's soccer for the 1998-99 school year.

Won more than 500 football games, an accomplishment shared with only four other teams in the state.

Led all NCAA men's basketball programs, regardless of division, in three-point field goal percentage in 2000-01. The Britons posted a .460 percentage in 25 games.

Worked its way to be among the elite in NCAA Division III women's golf. Back-to-back winners of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association women's golf championship (1999, 2000), Albion has been ranked as high as sixth in the Division III MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings.

Won the 2000 & 2001 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association women's soccer championship and qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs. In the process, Albion set school records for wins and goals scored in a season.

Posted the highest grade point average of any NCAA Division III softball program in the nation. The 2000 Briton softball team's 3.53 grade point average led all programs registered with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Earned all-America recognition in NCAA championship competition 51 times since 1981 and won national individual championships on six occasions in that span.

Continued to lead all MIAA members in league championships for football (31), track and field (31) and baseball (29).

Finished with four women's golfers among the top-10 in league play in the same season for the first time ever. (2000)

Produced 16 first team all-Americans in football, including 2000 consensus all-American kicker Keith Debbaudt. The 16 All-Americans is the highest for any Michigan college or university below Division I-A.
Earned academic all-America team awards from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) for both the men's and womenÃ??s teams. The women's team had the best GPA for any Division III program for the fall 2000 semester.
Produced eight NCAA Postgraduate Scholars, covering baseball, women's basketball and football, including one recipient each year from 1993 through 1998.

Had 13 student-athletes accorded first team all-MIAA honors for four consecutive seasons, most recent being Melissa Hall in women's golf in 2000. Hall is only the third league golfer since the sport's inception in 1991 to earn first team all-MIAA honors for four seasons.

Received recognition from the United States Track Coaches Association for its all-academic honors program for two consecutive years. Albion was ranked ninth among all NCAA Division III menÃ??s programs for its combined grade point average in 2000.

Earned 25 of a possible 27 team GPA (grade point average) awards for women's athletic teams from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association since the award's inception in 1999, more than any other league member. In both 1999 (soccer/3.66) and 2000 (cross country/3.631), Albion teams had the highest team GPA for any sport, regardless of gender, in the MIAA.