Hannah Cole Wins OVC Medal of Honor

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – On Monday it was announced that 199 Ohio Valley Conference student-athletes have earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor Presented by Army ROTC for the 2014-15 academic year. Eastern Illinois had 30 student-athletes earn OVC Medal of Honor status to lead all 12 OVC schools.

The OVC Academic Medal of Honor Presented by Army ROTC is given annually to the student-athletes who achieve the highest grade point average in a Conference-sponsored sport. Every Academic Medal of Honor recipient for the 2014-15 academic year carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

Of the 199 award winners, 26 were awarded Academic Medals of Honor for multiple sports (and counted just once in the final recipients list).

The sport of women's track and field was the sport with the most honorees league-wide (36).

The 199 recipients are the second-most in the 22-year history of the award, trailing only the 212 winners in 2012-13. Over the past five years there have been 942 student-athletes earn the OVC Academic Medal of Honor.

Last Friday the league announced that a record 1,275 student-athletes earned a spot on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll for carrying a 3.25 grade point average or higher last academic year. The League will announce the winner of the Academic Achievement Award and Team Academic Achievement Awards on Wednesday. Eastern Illinois led all 12 OVC schools with the Friday announcement having 142 student-athletes earn that honor.

A local OVC Medal of Honor winner was Hannah Cole of Windsor in softball.