LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- The Rider University women's basketball team, with a 3.475 team grade point average (GPA), ranks first in the nation academically among NCAA Division I teams.

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its inaugural Academic Top-25 Honor Roll on Monday recognizing the nation's highest team grade point averages for the 1995-96 season.

The University of Wyoming placed second behind Rider with a 3.37 GPA.

The news of the women's team's top national ranking follows the U.S. News and World Report announcement earlier in the fall that Rider again ranks in the top tier of northern universities. In addition, the national magazine listed Rider fourth in value among regional universities in the north when taking into account the University's quality and price discounted by financial aid. Only those colleges and universities listed in the top tiers of their categories in the quality rankings were considered for this evaluation.

Regarding the women's basketball team success, its coach Eldon Price said, "We're all really excited about this. I knew our grades were high, but on the national level I thought we'd be lucky to break the top 25. Being first is really exciting. I think this is an indication of how hard our student-athletes work, both on the court and in the classroom. I think this is also a reflection of the commitment by the University and the faculty to the academic success of our student athletes."

For the third consecutive season, the Rider women's basketball team compiled the highest cumulative GPA of the 19 Rider varsity teams.

The basketball team and the university rankings augment other successes Rider has enjoyed over the past several years. In 1993, the College of Business Administration achieved special recognition from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. Less than one quarter of business all programs in the U.S. hold AACSB International accreditation and only three in New Jersey. Rider achieved university status in 1994. Last year the College of Education and Human Services and Westminster Choir College's education programs received reaccreditation from the National Council for the Advancement of Teacher Education.