2012-13 ATHLETICS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

ACADEMICSThe football Bears made it three straight years of finishing with the top APR (Academic Progress Rate) score in the Southland Conference and the state of Arkansas. UCA’s football program led the conference for the third consecutive season with a score of 960, one of only two Division I FCS schools to lead its respective league three years running.

The Bears led all D-I football teams in Arkansas as well, as the University of Arkansas and Arkansas State had scores of 938 and UAPB 907.

In all, 201 UCA student-athletes were named to the 2012-13 Southland Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll, the most in the league. Of those, 36 had a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

2012-13 was also the first time for the combined GPA of all student-ath-letes to eclipse the 3.0 mark, rising to a 3.02 –a steady improvement since 2007 when the overall GPA was 2.77.

ADDITIONAL NCAA REVENUEThe Athletic Department budgeted $450,000 for FY13, which included $68,000 earmarked to academics. The actual FY13 revenue received in June of this year was $842,531 – nearly $400,000 more than budgeted.

Of that $842,531, $70,000 is for Academics and $187,615 to summer and 5th-year scholarships. The remaining amount ($584,916) then went to the general fund.

2012-13 ATHLETICS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

FOOTBALLSouthland Conference co-champions, along with Sam Houston State, with a 6-1 league record. By virtue of beating SHSU during the season, the Bears received the tiebreaker and the league’s automatic bid to the Division I Playoffs.

Reached 2nd round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, coming up short at 6-time national champion Georgia Southern.

Finished No. 8 in the final regular-season poll.

Finished with 9 wins for the second consecutive season, going 9-3 including a victory over national runner-up Sam Houston State and going a perfect 6-0 on The Stripes of First Security Field at Estes Stadi-um – the second straight undefeated season at home, making the Bears 11-0 on the purple-and-gray turf. Two of those wins– the Sam Houston State game and Northwestern State game (in which the Bears secured the league title) were televised on the Southland Conference Television Network and ESPN3.

GOLFHad the Southland Conference Golfer of the Year in both men’s and wom-en’s golf with Pep Angles and Julia Roth taking home the honors. Angles was also the men’s golf Student-Athlete of the Year, while Roth became the first female golfer in Southland history to be named Golfer of the Month four times in a season.

Additionally, Angles and Roth both qualified for NCAA Regional tourna-ments, with Angles going to Fayetteville, Ark. and Roth to Norman, Okla.

2012-13 ATHLETICS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

VOLLEYBALLThe Sugar Bears won the Southland Conference championship forthe third time in four years, going 30-5 overall in 2012 – one of just seven teams in the nation to end the season with 30 or more wins.

The team added its first Southland Conference Tournament champion-ship, defeating Oral Roberts in the tournament (held at the Farris Center for the second consecutive season) to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, where they were paired up with the national Top 10 power Washington Huskies in the opening round.

Senior Jessica Hays was named the league’s Student-Athlete of the Year, and junior Marissa Collins was the Setter of the Year.

SOFTBALLCoach David Kuhn’s Bears finished a two-year run in which it won 74 games, 19 games better than any two-year run in program history, includ-ing a program-record 38 wins in 2013.

The Bears reached the semifinals of the 2013 Southland Conference Tournament for the first time, knocking off top-seeded McNeese State.

Senior Kelsie Armstrong was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year.

WOMEN’S SOCCERThe UCA women’s soccer team turned in a record-setting season, posting its most wins in a Division I season with 10 (doubling its win total from the previous season) and earning its first-ever All-Southland Conference honoree in junior Adriana Lucar, the league’s Newcomer of the Year.

2012-13 ATHLETICS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

BASEBALLThe Central Arkansas Baseball team burst onto the scene in a big way in 2013, taking the Southland Conference Tournament title as a No. 7 seed, winning five consecutive elimination games in the tournament.

That title earned the Bears a berth in the NCAA Starkville Regional where they finished as runners-up, going 3-2 with wins over each of the other teams in the regional before losing a decisive championship game against national runner-up Mississippi State.

Coach Allen Gum’s Bears won a school-record 42 games, breaking the old mark of 35, broke into the national polls for the first time and finished ranked 25th in the nation.

MEN’S BASKETBALLUnder the direction of head coach Corliss Williamson, the Bears earned their first trip to the Southland Conference tournament as they finished with their highest conference win total to date and concluded the regular season with four straight wins (two coming in overtime).

MEN’S SOCCERThe UCA men’s soccer team won its first Missouri Valley Conference tournament game ever, and quadrupled its win total from the 2011 sea-son. Under the direction of head coach Ross Duncan, the Bears placed five players on the All-MVC teams.

2012-13 ATHLETICS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

WOMEN’S BASKETBALLUnder the direction of first-year head coach Sandra Rushing, the Sugar Bears advanced to the Southland Conference tournament for the third straight season.

Senior Megan Herbert wrapped up one of the best careers ever in Di-vision I, winning her third sraight Southland Conference Player of the Year award and finishing third in D-I history in double-doubles and 10th in rebounds while becoming one of just nine players in Division I history with more than 2,300 points and 1,400 rebounds. She also leaves as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the history of Division I women’s basketball in the state of Arkansas.

WOMEN’S TENNISThe Sugar Bears continued their improvement under head coach Jeff Borengasser, who has taken the team to 20 wins in his two seasons at the helm after the team won just once in the year prior to his arrival. The Sugar Bears had a program D-I record 12 wins, and made their first-ever Southland Conference tournament.

TRACK & CROSS COUNTRYThe men’s and women’s cross country teams sent seven runners each to the NCAA South Central Regional, with two Bears earning All-South Central Regional honors by finishing in the Top 25. As a team, the men were 9th and women 16th. Both squads were 5th at the Southland Cham-pionshps.

In track & field, the UCA women were 4th in the Indoor and 5th at the Outdoor Southland championships and had four individual conference champions (including stadium records by Jasmine Ellis & Erika Setzler in the heptathlon and 10,000 meters). The men were 9th at both meets.