NEW ORLEANS – The University of South Alabama claimed the Sun Belt Conference men's track & field 2017-18 Team GPA Award, as announced Wednesday by the league office. This is the Jaguars' fifth consecutive conference academic award.

The program earned a cumulative 3.27 grade-point average for the academic year, up from an overall 3.22 during the 2016-17 season.  

The men's track & field team finished fourth at the indoor Sun Belt Championships in February with 76 points and tied for seventh at the outdoor conference meet after scoring 61 points. Seven Jaguars received all-conference honors at the indoor meet.

Individually, junior Sean Collins won his third consecutive Sun Belt pole vault outdoor championship and was named first-team all-conference. He tied for second at the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round and picked up All-American honors for the second consecutive year with an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Division I Championships in Eugene, Ore.

The Sun Belt issued Team GPA Awards to 10 member institutions across 16 sponsored sports. 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub

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