KANSAS CITY, MO- The Juniata men's basketball team is one of more than 150 colleges and universities to receive the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award. This is the second straight year that the Eagles have been bestowed with this honor.

The award is given to NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA Division I and II teams that achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better for the 2014-15 season.

Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the NABC was founded in 1927 by 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.