KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced its annual Scholar Teams and John Brown University has placed seven squads on the 2011-12 list.

The women's cross country team, coached by Matt Pearson, finished at the No. 45 spot, nationally, with a cumulative team GPA of 3.59.

"I am very proud of our student-athletes and their success in the classroom," director of athletics Robyn Daugherty said. "It takes great personal discipline and time management to commit to excellence both on and off the court/field. Our institution is known for high-quality academics, so it is an impressive accomplishment to see seven of our 10 programs receive this award."

During Daugherty's coaching days at the helm of the volleyball program, her squad captured a berth on the 2007-08 Scholar Team list, posting a 3.08 GPA.

"I know our coaches spend time with each student-athlete making sure our student-athletes understand what it takes to succeed academically at JBU. While my desire is to see these students excel on the court/field, my focus is set on setting these student-athletes up for successful in life after college."

Joining the women's cross country team were the women's basketball, men's cross country, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's tennis and volleyball programs.

For a team to be considered for the NAIA Scholar Team award, it must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) as defined by the institution. The team grade-point average includes all varsity student-athletes certified as eligible.