WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? Four Monmouth University Division I athletic teams have earned the highest grade point average in their respective sports among Northeast Conference competition, league officials recently announced.

The Monmouth men's basketball team led the way among NEC schools with a 3.010 GPA while three fall sports paced their respective competition. The MU football team led the way with a 2.860 mark, the NEC regular season and tournament champion women's soccer squad sported a 3.410 GPA and the field hockey team led the NEC, and placed fifth in the nation, with a 3.420 mark.

Monmouth's 19 Division I athletics teams garnered a total cumulative GPA of 3.150, good enough for third in the NEC, narrowly behind Quinnipiac (3.151) for second behind Wagner (3.186).

Overall, the NEC's 4,300+ student-athletes averaged a 3.070 GPA for the 2007-08 year.  A total of eight institutions - Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner - finished the year with at least a 3.00 GPA.