Rutgers wins Big East academic award

The Rutgers football team won the 2011-12 Big East Team Academic Excellence Award for its cumulative grade-point average, the league announced Thursday. The Scarlet Knights have had tremendous success in the classroom, and recently became the only state university to finish in the top 10 percent nationally in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate scores for five straight years. “We continue to have great pride in our football program for their constant focus on the balance between academics and athletics at Rutgers,” athletic director Tim Pernetti said in a statement.