PORTLAND, Ore. – Eight Western Washington University student-athletes were recipients of Great Northwest Athletic Conference Faculty Athletics Representative’s Scholar-Athletes awards for 2016-17 announced by the conference office.
Presented annually to the most outstanding student-athletes at each GNAC institution, the award honors those athletes who have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 or better. All student-athletes, including redshirts, listed on any squad list at a GNAC full-member school, regardless of whether the sport is a GNAC championship sport, are eligible for the award. Conference affiliate members could nominate student-athletes from the sport in which they compete in the GNAC. A record 193 GNAC student-athletes, including 57 men and 136 women, were recognized with FAR awards.
The national champion rowing program led the way with five of the eight selections. The eight selections are tied for the fourth-most by WWU student-athletes since the award started in 2011-12. Overall WWU’s student-athletes combined for a 3.16 GPA in 2016-17, with 11 of 13 teams posting a GPA over 3.00 (Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field is considered one sport for GPA purposes).
WWU student-athletes honored included the following:
| Name | Sport | Academic Major | Year | GPA | Hometown |
| Bethany Drake*** | Track and Field | Master In Teaching | Grad. | 4.00 | Sandy, Ore. |
| Angie Dexter | Rowing | Undeclared | Fr. | 3.96 | Anchorage, Alaska |
| Autumn Harding | Rowing | Biology | Fr. | 3.92 | Kingston, Wash. |
| Aundrea Koger | Cross Country/Track | Biology | Fr. | 3.90 | Osage City, Kan. |
| Kelly Oberbillig | Rowing | Behavioral Neuroscience | So. | 3.85 | Milton, Wash. |
| Madi Stapleton | Rowing | Undeclared | Fr. | 4.00 | Kansas City, Kan. |
| Karisa Stapp*** | Rowing | Accounting | Jr. | 3.85 | Bellingham, Wash. |
| Shawna Troupe**** | Cross Country/Track | Sport Psychology | Sr. | 3.94 | Kelso, Wash. |
Shawna Troupe (Kelso, WA) of the Cross Country and Track & Field became a four-time selection carrying a 3.94 GPA as a sport psychology major. Troupe finished her career placing 9th in the 1,500m at the GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Bethany Drake (Sandy, OR) earned the FAR Award for the third time in her career after earning her Master in Teaching certificate with a perfect 4.00 GPA. Drake won the 2017 NCAA Division II national championship in the javelin, her second national title, and was named the 2016-17 GNAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Karisa Stapp (Bellingham, WA/Mt. Baker) also became a three-time selection with a 3.85 GPA as an accounting major. Stapp helped lead the Vikings to the 2017 NCAA Division II rowing national championship as a key member of the Varsity 8+. She was named a First Team All-American and was a District 8 CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large selection.
A faculty athletic representative (FAR) is a member of the faculty at a NCAA member institution who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution’s faculty and the athletic department. The FAR serves as a representative of the institution in conference and NCAA affairs.
The role of the FAR is “to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and athletics.”
Dr. Bruce Larson, a professor in WWU’s Woodring College of Education, is in his second term as WWU’s Faculty Athletic Representative.
(WWU Athletics)