By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the third year in a row a record total of student-athletes earned the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar Athlete award presented by Barnes & Noble College, as 426 individuals were named when the conference announced the 2024-25 winners on Tuesday.
 
The complete listing of 2024-25 GNAC FAR Scholar Athlete award winners can be viewed here.
 
The figure is 32 more student-athletes than the 2023-24 record-breaking number of 394, marking the first time the league has recognized upwards of 400 student-athletes with the top academic award. The GNAC FAR Scholar Athlete Award is presented to all student-athletes listed on any squad at a GNAC institution, regardless of whether the sport is a GNAC championship sport, who have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 or greater. Conference affiliate members could nominate only student-athletes from the sport in which they compete within the GNAC.
 
The 2024-25 academic year marks the fifth consecutive year that more than 300 student-athletes were honored. The latest list of recipients included representation from all 10 GNAC full members as well as women’s rowing affiliates Cal Poly Humboldt and University of Central Oklahoma.
 
A faculty athletic representative (FAR) is a member of the faculty at an NCAA member institution who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution’s faculty and the athletic department. The FAR serves as a representative of the institution in conference and NCAA affairs.
The role of the FAR is “to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and athletics.”