KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time, the South Dakota men's basketball team has earned the Team Academic Excellence Award presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). 
 
The academic award program was started after the 2012-13 season and recognizes outstanding achievement by teams with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better for the 2019-20 season. All teams in NCAA Divisions I, II, III and NAIA are eligible.
 
Men's basketball combined for a cumulative 3.12 team GPA in the 2019-20 season. The Yotes had their best semester in the Division I era when they recorded a 3.35 team GPA for the spring 2020 semester.