Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Athletics Department is proud to announce the opening of the new Student-Athlete Academic Center. 

"Our student-athletes have demanding schedules and we are excited to have this new facility for their use," commented Hofstra University Director of Athletics Jack Hayes.  "I am confident it will serve as a valuable tool in assisting them as they balance their academic and athletic responsibilities."

The Student-Athlete Academic Center, located on the second floor of the James M. Shuart Stadium Building, is available for use by all of Hofstra's student-athletes and has a capacity of nearly 150.  The facility will open at the start of the fall semester. 

This 3,000 square foot facility has 12 computer workstations, three laser printers, two private conference rooms that can be utilized for tutorial assistance, a group study area, 40 individual workstations and a full-time University staff of three to assist Hofstra's student-athletes with the many features of The Student-Athlete Academic Center.  The entire facility is also equipped with wireless internet access.

The Hofstra Athletics Department is proud of the academic excellence shown by its student-athletes as well as the emphasis that its coaches place on academic achievement.

Since 1970, Hofstra Athletics has had 23 student-athletes honored as Academic All-Americans.  This is the highest academic honor a student-athlete can receive, and in addition, 1986 and 1987 honoree Dr. Hilarie Cranmer (Women's Basketball) was inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2006.

In 2009-10, more than half of Hofstra's student-athletes compiled at least a 3.0 grade point average, while 13 had a grade point average of 4.0.  The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) honored 157 student-athletes with the Commissioner's Academic Award, while a total of six men's and women's basketball student-athletes were named to the CAA All-Academic Teams.  Softball student-athlete Kris Root was also named the CAA Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

On Friday, the Hofstra Women's Lacrosse program was honored as a Merit Squad by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).  The honor signifies that the Pride had one of the top three grade point averages in all of NCAA Division I women's lacrosse (91 teams) during the 2009-10 academic year.  In fact, Hofstra's team GPA of 3.492 led the entire nation, edging Stanford (3.477) and Duke (3.471).