GRANVILLE, Ohio (October 11, 2022) – Denison University ranked 39th in the 2022-23 US News and World Report National Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings, which were released earlier this Fall.

Denison is one of only nine colleges nationally – and the only college in the Midwest – that is recognized in the top-40 of both the US News and World Report National Liberal Arts College Rankings and the Learfield Director's Cup Division III standings. Denison is keeping good company within this elite group, alongside Amherst, Bowdoin, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Middlebury, Pomona-Pitzer, Washington & Lee, Wesleyan, and Williams.

Denison has been steadily climbing in the Learfield Division III Directors' Cup standings over recent years, moving up from 48th in 2016-17 to 44th in 2017-18, 39th in 2018-19 and now 35th this past year.

Denison has a longstanding tradition of excellence in athletics, capturing its league-leading 18th North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Championship with a record-breaking total of 190.5 points to go along with eight NCAC Championships this past year.

Athletic highlights from the 2021-22 year for Denison include:

• Baseball earning the second most wins in program history (35-11) and setting a new program record for conference wins (16-2) in a season, all while winning a second straight NCAC regular-season championship, winning its third straight NCAC Tournament Championship, hosting an NCAA Regional for the first time in program history, and advancing to the regional championship game for the second year in a row with Head Coach Mike Deegan at the helm.
• Men's lacrosse earning its 20th NCAC regular-season championship in program history with a perfect 9-0 conference record, winning its sixth straight NCAC Tournament title and advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament under the direction of first-year Head Coach Eric Koch.
• Women's lacrosse hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Championship and defeating No. 14-ranked Catholic University 13-12 in overtime to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fourth season in a row under the direction of Head Coach Amanda Daniels.
• Men's tennis winning its second straight NCAC Championship under Head Coach David Schilling with a 5-3 win over Kenyon and advancing to the Sweet 16 with its first win at the NCAA national tournament since 1997, all while setting a new program record for wins in a single season (23-4).
• Women's tennis winning its first NCAC Championship since 2016 with a 5-3 win over Kenyon.
• Men's swimming & diving earning its 13th NCAC Championship with a comeback win in the very final event, the 400 freestyle relay, to defeat rival Kenyon by five points (1,978.5-1,973.5).
• Men's soccer earning a pair of 1-0 victories over both No. 18 Ohio Wesleyan University and No. 14 Kenyon College to win the NCAC Tournament Championship for the third time in program history and help the Big Red advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
• Women's soccer earning its conference-best 11th NCAC Regular-Season Championship.
• Volleyball capturing its first-ever NCAC Championship with a perfect record of 8-0 in conference play.
• Women's golf securing its second straight NCAC Championship and doing so by 79 strokes over the rest of the field.

Academic highlights from the 2021-22 year for Denison include:

• Liam Picozzi being awarded the prestigious Postgraduate Scholarship from the NCAA. 21 scholarships with a value of $10,000 were awarded to men's winter sport athletes spanning all levels of the NCAA. Picozzi, who is pursuing medical school, becomes the 55th Denison student-athlete to receive the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
• Denison senior swimmer Liam Picozzi being named a CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American® while senior women's lacrosse player Casey McTague was named a Third-Team Academic All-American®. Denison has now been awarded with 108 total CoSIDA Academic All-American and 50 First-Team Academic All-Americans in school history.
• Denison landing 116 student-athletes on the 2021-22 North Coast Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll. To be honored, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore on an active roster in a sport sponsored by the conference and hold a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.50 or higher. Denison was one of seven NCAC institutions to have over 100 honorees on the list this year. Overall, the NCAC recognized a record of 1,221 student-athletes (1,376 total roster spots) on the 2021-22 Academic Honor Roll.
• Denison hosting the 11th Annual James T. Glerum '82 Top-50 Scholar-Athlete Honors Celebration on Monday, April 4, inside the Mitchell Center in Granville. The event, which was able to be in-person this year for the first time in three years, recognizes the top-50 Denison student-athletes of sophomore standing or higher based on grade point average. The banquet is named in honor of James T. Glerum, a 1982 graduate and member of the Big Red men's basketball team. During the event, each top-50 honoree is recognized with their invited faculty member, who is called to give a short introduction meant to illustrate the academic commitment of the student-athlete.
• Denison Athletics inducting its 2021-22 class into the Chi Alpha Sigma honor society during Denison's 11th Annual James T. Glerum '82 Top-50 Scholar-Athlete Celebration. This year's class consisted of 71 student-athletes across 21 varsity sports. Denison's Chi Alpha Sigma chapter gives the university an opportunity to honor collegiate student-athletes that have excelled in both the classroom and in athletic competition. To be eligible to join the honor society, the student-athlete must participate in a sport at the varsity intercollegiate level, achieve junior academic standing, display strong moral character, and earn a 3.4 or higher cumulative grade point average. Established in 1996, Chi Alpha Sigma continues to provide outstanding student-athletes with an opportunity to become connected within a fraternal association that aligns their educational and athletic successes for a lifetime.
• Women's golf earning the WGCA All-Scholar Team GPA Award (ranked 11th in NCAA Division III with a collective team GPA of 3.701) and landing four All-American Scholars for 2021-22, including senior Sophia Alexander, junior Laine Hursh, sophomore Kate Griffin and freshman Ella McRoberts (minimum 3.50 cumulative GPA).
• Men's golf being named a 2021-22 GCAA All-Academic Team (one of 28 schools from NCAA Division III with a GPA of 3.0 or higher) while seniors Marc Mitchell and Ben Scherman were both named Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars for 2021-22 (minimum 3.2 cumulative career GPA).
• The IWLCA naming Denison women's lacrosse as an Academic Honor Squad for the 2021-22 academic year (minimum 3.2 team GPA for the academic year) and recognizing six Big Red student-athletes (Grace Hanson, Casey McTague, Annie Rau, Abby Van Metre, Ryann Yospa) on its Academic Honor Roll (minimum 3.50 cumulative GPA).
• Men's tennis garnering nine ITA Scholar-Athletes (Andy Mackler, Akshat Agarwal, Ryan Patrick, Daniel Garcia, Blake Eason, Marc-Lennart Harms, Tim Cianciola, Nadeem Jones, Colin Gramley) (minimum 3.50 GPA for the current academic year) and being named an ITA All-Academic Team (minimum 3.2 team GPA).
• Women's tennis having four student-athletes (Hannah Bradvica, Sydney Cianciola, Sarah Robertson, Elizabeth Hoo) earn ITA Scholar-Athlete honors (minimum 3.50 grade point average for the current academic year) and being named an ITA All-Academic Team (minimum 3.2 team GPA).
• Softball putting 11 players (Jacqui Abogado, Maggie Ballentine, Annabelle Calderon, Charlotte Doulette, Caitlin Ellwanger, Macie Harkovich, Sam Kline, Lexi Knipp, Claire Powell, Sydney Silverstein, Clara Wolff) on the Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete team (minimum 3.5 GPA).
• The USTFCCCA annoucing their All-Academic teams and athletes for the 2022 NCAA Division III track & field seasons, which included Denison's Catelyn Gagnier, Andrew D'Asaro and Gabe Springer as All-Academic honorees (minimum 3.30 cumulative GPA). Additionally, the Denison women's track & field team earned USTFCCCA All-Academic team honors with a cumulative GPA of 3.24.
• The Denison men and women's cross country teams being selected by the USTFCCCA as All-Academic Teams for the 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country season. The men and women posted GPAs of 3.24 and 3.35 respectively to earn the honors.  Additionally, senior Emily Willson from the Denison women's cross country team was named an All-Academic Athlete (minimum 3.30 GPA and finish in the top-25 percent of their respective region championship meet).
• Denison men's basketball being recognized with the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award (minimum 3.0 team GPA) while seniors John Faller (Psychology) and Kevin Cheng (Economics) and junior Will Hunter (Financial Economics and Data Analytics) were named to the Honors Court (minimum 3.2 cumulative GPA)
• The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) selected its Scholar All-America teams for the Spring 2022 semester, and both the Denison men's and women's swimming & diving teams made the grade. Teams were selected on the basis of their Spring 2022 grade point averages as the Denison men posted a 3.39 GPA while the Big Red women finished at 3.52. During Head Coach Gregg Parini's tenure leading the Big Red, the women's team has been named to the Scholar All-America team every year while the men have earned the honor 34 times.
• Swimming & diving landing 32 Scholar All-Americans for 2021-22. To qualify for First-Team Scholar All-America, student-athletes earned a minimum GPA of 3.50 and participated in their national championship. Second-Team selections also earned a 3.50 GPA or higher and achieved a "B" time standard for the national championship or participated at a diving zone qualification meet. The Big Red women's team closed out the 2021-22 campaign with 20 total Scholar-Americans (Nikki Barnas, Annalise Cheshire, Christina Crane, Amber Croonquist, Tara Culibrk, Devin Javens, Kerstyn Johnson, Rebecca Martin, Claire Moody, Alix O'Brien, Maja Palmroos, Annie Pfeufer, Emma Pritchett, Lauren Richner, Savannah Sargent, Becca Taylor, Taryn Wisner, Tara Witkowski, Esme Wright, Lauren Young), including 14 first-team honorees, while the men's squad followed with 12 total selections (Michael Arpasi, Ethan Bevill, Connor Brown, Eric Chimes, Tyler Distenfeld, Noah Houskeeper, Gavin Jones, Richie Kurlich, Aidan Lane, Christian Narcelles, Liam Picozzi, Max Soja) and six first-team members.
• The Denison women's fencing team earning Academic Honors from the United States Fencing Coaches Association (minimum in-season GPA of 3.3 or higher). Denison ranked third with an in-season GPA of 3.65. The Big Red also earned numerous individual All-Academic Honors. The USFCA recognized student-athletes who had an in-season GPA of 3.3 or higher with All-Academic Team Honors (Paige Cromwell, Tristan Luu, Nor Tierney, Nina de Laperouse, Bella Rosabal, Ollie Strasburg, Beril Gultekin) while student-athletes who had an in-season GPA of 3.7 or higher earned Scholar of Distinction Honors (Shivika Churiwalla, Anusha Shukla, Abigail Yasuzawa, Tessy Udoh, Gabriella Longo).
• Senior defensive back Ryan Hallinan of the Denison football team being recognized as a Scholar-Athlete at the National Football Foundation (NFF) Columbus Chapter and College Hall of Fame's 61st Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet on February 7.
• Senior midfielder Abby King of the Denison women's soccer team being named an NCAA Division III Second-Team Scholar-All American and a First-Team All-North/Central Region Scholar by the United Soccer Coaches. She is only the fifth player in the history of Denison women's soccer to be named a Scholar All-American.
• Junior Jess Joseph of the Denison field hockey team being named a 2021 Division III Scholar of Distinction by the NFHCA (minimum 3.9 or higher cumulative GPA through the first semester of the 2021-22 academic year). Additionally, 16 Denison student-athletes (Meg Baylis, Sunnie Fireman, Abigail Hano, Kate Hinshaw, Athena Joannou, Jess Joseph, Kristin Kelley, Maren Kraak, Grace Lock, Cary Mauck, Ana Ortiz DeRosa, Sarah Stratenus, Maya Tumiwa, Anna Van Dam, Bieneke Van Waesberghe, AC Veith) were named to the 2021 NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad (minimum 3.3 or higher cumulative GPA) through the first semester of the current academic year).