DESTIN, Fla. – Georgia State Athletics earned one of the Sun Belt Conference's highest honors on Sunday night receiving the 2016 Institutional Graduation Award.

The award goes to the university that had the highest percentage of student-athletes graduate based on the most recent Federal Graduation Report. The numbers go through last year and are based on a six year cohort.

In the latest report, Georgia State has graduated 70 percent of its student-athletes that enrolled six years ago. The mark is five percentage points higher than any other school in the Sun Belt Conference.

“We are extremely proud to earn this honor and everything it entails,” director of athletics Charlie Cobb said. “It not only shows the type of culture we are building at Georgia State, but also embodies the great student-athletes, coaches and academic support staff we have. The University is gaining national recognition for its ability to graduate students and we are proud to be a part of that effort.”

The graduation rates are calculated and published yearly by the NCAA in its Division I Graduation Rate Annual Report. 

Georgia State student-athletes recently completely another top-notch semester in the classroom, compiling a school-record 3.18 GPA, just a semester after tying the school record with a 3.16 GPA in the fall. An all-time high of 233 individuals earned academic honors, including a record 48 Panthers on the President's List.

GSU student-athletes have posted a GPA of 3.0 or better, semester or cumulative, for eight consecutive years, dating back to the fall of 2008.