Wheeling, W. Va. - As the 2026-2027 season fast approaches, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team is building its roster to compete for a Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship. While it was a breakout season on the court for the team, the winning culture continued in the classroom for the Cardinals as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its 2025-26 Team Academic Excellence Awards. For the third year in a row, Wheeling University was represented on the list, and they would be the only team in the MEC represented.
In order to be recognized with the Team Academic Excellence Award by the NABC, a team must finish the academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. This year, the NABC honored over 400 programs with the Team Academic Excellence Award, spanning all three divisions of the NCAA as well as several NAIA programs. NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson is extremely proud of all of the accomplishments by these student-athletes on the court, but it is their work in the classroom that he is most proud of, highlighting academics as one of the core values of the NABC as a whole.
"College basketball student-athletes do incredible things on the court, but their achievements in the classroom are equally worthy of celebration," said Robinson. "Education is one of the NABC's core values, and the hundreds of programs and thousands of athletes represented on these awards reinforce the commitment to academic success that exists across all levels of sports."
The 2025-2026 season marks the third year in a row that the Cardinals have won the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, as well as the third straight season that they have had representatives on the NABC Honors Court. The Cardinals made history with the feat, becoming the only MEC team to earn the award in three straight seasons. Along with the history, the Cardinals were also the only team from the conference represented on this year's list. The Cardinals supplemented their success in the classroom with a breakout performance on the court that saw them take the No. 3 seed in the MEC, finishing the year 19-9 overall and 14-6 in conference play. It was their best record since the 2017-18 season, and they look to continue building on that success in 2026-2027.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team continues its preparation for the 2026-2027 season as it look to come back stronger both on and off the court.
