PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Vermont State University Castleton has earned the Little East Conference (LEC) Presidents’ Cup for the 2024-25 academic year, announced LEC Commissioner Al Bean. Castleton student-athletes completed the year with a 3.40 average cumulative GPA among the University’s 19 athletic programs that compete in the conference. The formal presentation of the LEC Presidents’ Cup will take place at the Fall 2025 LEC Presidents Council meeting.
The LEC Presidents’ Cup measures the highest average cumulative grade point average among the student-athletes from the Conference’s nine primary member institutions that compete in the league’s 21 championship sports.
“Congratulations to President David Bergh, Athletic Director Tim Barrett, the entire coaching and support staff, and especially all of the at Vermont State Castleton student-athletes for such an outstanding performance in the classroom,” said Bean. “Castleton has consistently performed at a very high academic level since joining the LEC, and I want to commend them for making sure the ‘student’ in ‘student-athlete’ is always at the forefront of their institutional priorities. Well done Spartans!”
Castleton joined the Conference for the 2018-19 academic year, and has since claimed the LEC Presidents’ Cup three times. The Spartans earned the LEC Presidents’ Cup in their first year as a league member, and have posted the LEC’s top average cumulative GPA in two of the last three years.
Eighteen of Castleton’s 19 LEC teams earned an average cumulative GPA of at least 3.00, 16 of which had an average cumulative GPA of at least 3.20, including nine teams with an average cumulative GPA above 3.50. The women’s soccer program posted a department-best 3.78 average cumulative GPA, while the top men’s team was men’s cross country with a 3.72 average cumulative GPA.
“I am thrilled that VTSU-Castleton athletics has received the LEC President’s Cup for the third time since joining the conference,” said Vermont State University President David G. Bergh, Ed.D. “This is a particularly meaningful award, as athletes being recognized for their scholarship is the ultimate measure of what being a true student-athlete represents. My congratulations to our students, coaches, and athletics staff.”
Castleton Director of Athletics Tim Barrett said, “I am extremely proud of our student-athletes for winning the LEC Presidents’ Cup. This award is a culmination of the dedication to academics put forth by our student-athletes, coaches and faculty.”
For the fourth time in the award’s history, each of the LEC’s nine member institutions posted an average cumulative GPA above a 3.00 for the recently completed academic year. The first three spanned the 2019-22 academic years. Eight of the LEC’s nine members had an average department GPA above a 3.00 each of the past years.
Bean added “I want to commend all of our Little East Conference institutions, as all nine of our core members have checked in with an overall GPA above the 3.0 mark. This speaks volumes about the quality of our student-athletes and their commitment to academic performance, persistence and graduation.”
Five of the LEC’s nine member institutions have won the Presidents’ Cup in its history - Eastern Connecticut State University, Keene State College, UMass Dartmouth, Plymouth State University and Vermont State Castleton. Eastern Connecticut holds the record for the most LEC Presidents’ Cup wins with seven.
2024-25 LEC Presidents’ Cup Standings
1. Vermont State Castleton - 3.40
2. Plymouth State - 3.38
3. Southern Maine - 3.31
4. Eastern Connecticut - 3.30
5. UMass Boston - 3.29
6. Keene State - 3.26
7. UMass Dartmouth - 3.24
8. Rhode Island College - 3.11
9. Western Connecticut - 3.01