DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team was recognized for its success in the classroom as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced its 2025-26 academic awards.

North Georgia earned the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award after posting a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the 2025-26 academic year.

In addition, four Nighthawks were named to the NABC Honors Court, which recognizes junior, senior and graduate student men's basketball players who finished the academic year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.

Representing North Georgia on the NABC Honors Court were Jake Stephens, Jameel Rideout, JoJo Peterson and Stephen Akwiwu.

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize collegiate men's basketball programs that demonstrate a commitment to academic achievement by maintaining a team GPA of at least 3.0 throughout the academic year. The Honors Court recognizes individual student-athletes who have excelled academically while competing at the collegiate level.

More than 400 programs across all levels of college basketball received the Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2025-26 academic year, while more than 2,300 student-athletes were named to the NABC Honors Court.

"College basketball student-athletes do incredible things on the court, but their achievements in the classroom are equally worthy of celebration," NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson said. "Education is one of the NABC's core values, and the hundreds of programs and thousands of athletes represented on these awards reinforce the commitment to academic success that exists across all levels of our sport."

The NABC presents its academic awards annually to recognize both team and individual excellence in the classroom across all divisions of collegiate men's basketball.