CLEVELAND – For the second consecutive year, Western Michigan’s men’s track and field program has been named the winner of the 2024 Mid-American Conference Men’s Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) Academic Achievement Award.

The FAR Awards recognize the conference institution with the highest combination of grade point average (GPA) and academic progress rate (APR) by gender. GPAs are based on the 2023-24 academic year.

The conference FARs have worked with the Athletic Academic Advisors to calculate an award that best represents the academic achievements of student-athletes in a competitive environment. FAR awards are given to the male and female programs at the institutions with the highest overall combination of GPA and APR within the conference. Only MAC-sponsored sports are considered.

“We are proud of the great work of our student-athletes, coaches and academic support staff that have enabled us to achieve this type of excellence,” said Dan Bartholomae, WMU athletic director and vice president. “Especially in today’s intercollegiate athletics landscape, being recognized for maintaining and graduating our athletes at the highest academic level in these sports is a testament to their efforts.”

“We are incredibly proud of our student-athletes,” said Luchara Wallace, WMU FAR and Dean of Merze Tate College. “Western Michigan University Athletics creates an environment where our student-athletes excel both in the classroom and on the field. Our programs create family-like environments where student-athletes feel safe, welcomed, seen and affirmed – and provide them with the support they need to stay and ultimately graduate.”

Overall, it is the tenth time WMU has won the award since its inception in 2008, and no other school in the MAC has more than four wins.


Three Western Michigan University men’s sports programs earned the highest GPA for the 2023-24 season – baseball at 3.609, men’s basketball at 3.388 and men’s tennis at 3.844. WMU men’s programs earned an APR of 1000 for the following programs: baseball, men’s basketball and men’s tennis.