The Tri-Athlete Model at Bushnell University reflects our desire to see student-athletes transformed in all facets of life: on the field of play as Champions of Character and in the classroom as Christ-centered scholars. Above all, we desire to give student-athletes the opportunity to pursue a maturing identity in Christ. Our student-athletes honor the gospel of Christ by chasing excellence in class and competition.
As one of the pillars of the Tri-Athlete Model, a strong focus on academic strength has always been a calling card of Bushnell Athletics. Over the years, Beacons have proven to be academic leaders on campus, in the Cascade Conference, and nationally.
Academic Leaders at Bushnell University
Each year at commencement, a number of awards are bestowed upon graduates. The President’s Scholastic Award is given to the graduating senior who attained the highest cumulative GPA, with the most credits completed at Bushnell. This year there was a tie between two recipients, Aspen Slifka ’23 and Rebecca Kuskie ’23, both of whom were student-athletes. They became the seventh and eighth former athletes to receive the honor, seven of whom were from the last eight years.
The highest award bestowed by the University is the Kendall E. Burke Award. Determined by a vote of the student body and faculty, it is given on the basis of academic achievement, inspiration to students and faculty, high ideals of Christian character, and contribution to the mission of the University. Men’s soccer player Preston Ferry ’23 became the 12th student-athlete to earn the prestigious honor in the 83-year history of the award. He is the third Bushnell men’s soccer player to be selected in the last five years.
Academic Leaders in the Cascade Conference
A major metric for academic health in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) has been the Presidents’ Cup for Academic Excellence.
The President’s Cup is awarded each year to all schools in the CCC which achieve an overall combined GPA of 3.0 or better among their student athletes and have 60% of eligible student-athletes (at least sophomore standing with a 3.2 GPA) receive Academic All-Conference honors.
“Earning Presidents’ Academic Excellence designation represents the highest academic honor our departments can earn from the CCC,” stated CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell. “It is a great accomplishment and recognizes the outstanding efforts in the classroom.”
Bushnell is proudly the only school in the Cascade Conference that has garnered the Presidents’ Cup in every year that it has been presented in its current format, a streak that has reached eight years and counting. This year, the Beacons ranked fourth among full-member schools (with a 3.34 GPA) and ranked third with 68% of eligible student-athletes earning Academic All-Conference honors.
Academic Leaders Nationally
Bushnell Athletics continues to earn an impressive number of awards nationally from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC).
Each year the NAIA presents Scholar Team awards to all teams earning at least a 3.0 collective GPA
for that year. In 2022-2023, Bushnell had 15 of our 16 NAIA teams earn the honor. Both beach volleyball (3.63) and indoor volleyball (3.72) posted top-ten GPAs in the nation for their sport, with beach coming in fourth.
Collegiate Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) runs the nation’s preeminent Academic All-America program across all levels of collegiate athletics. Bushnell made a huge statement during the 2022-2023 campaign with a school-record of 36 players being selected for membership on the CSC Academic All-District teams.