Men's Basketball NABC Academic Excellence Award Honors UT

From Houston, where college sports talk often stretches from West U to living rooms across the city, Texas men’s basketball just added a strong academic note to its offseason. The Longhorns earned the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, a national honor that recognizes programs that post success in the classroom.

The award came from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and highlights teams that meet a standard cumulative GPA benchmark for the academic year. For Texas, it marks another piece of progress for a program that is judged on wins and losses every winter but also measured by how its players handle the work away from the court.

Texas men’s basketball earns national academic recognition

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Award goes to programs that achieve at least a 3.0 team GPA for the 2024-25 academic year. Texas secured a spot on that list, giving the Longhorns an academic distinction tied to the full roster’s classroom performance.

That matters because this award is built around consistency across the program, not one standout student. Coaches and athletic departments point to honors like this as proof that players are meeting the demands of travel, practice, film study, strength work, and college coursework at the same time.

Why the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award stands out

Basketball awards usually land in headlines for postseason runs, all-conference spots, or recruiting wins. The NABC Team Academic Excellence Award hits a different target. It recognizes structure, accountability, and day-to-day work that rarely gets the spotlight outside athletics circles.

For Texas, the timing fits the offseason, when programs are shaping next year’s roster and culture. Academic honors help frame the broader health of a team, especially in an era when roster turnover can change a program fast. A group still has to stay organized enough to meet university expectations in the classroom.

Texas has long carried major expectations in one of the country’s biggest athletic departments, and this award adds substance to the program’s off-court profile. In a state where college basketball competes hard for attention, national recognition like this gives the Longhorns one more clean result to point to before the next season ramps up.

The Longhorns will move from this academic milestone into offseason preparation, with roster development and the 2025-26 schedule still ahead before the next campaign begins in Austin.

This article is a summary of reporting by University of Texas Athletics. Read the full story here.