KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Blugolds.com) – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the 2019-20 NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards and the NABC Honors Court on Thursday. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team and four players were all recognized for their academic achievements.

NABC Team Release | NABC Honors Court Release

This was the fifth time the Blugolds have been credited with this team award in the past seven years.

The players representing the Blugolds on the Honors court were Adam Link (Sr. – Marshall, WI), Blake Wacholz (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/South), Luke Pannier (Sr. – De Pere, WI/West), and Nathan Banasik (So. – Prairie Du Chien, WI).

The team award is given to NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA teams with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher during the 2019-20 season. In addition, the individual honors consist of athletes who academically are a junior or senior and have a GPA of 3.2 or higher.  

Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Forrest "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. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com.