Ottumwa -- The Indian Hills basketball team earned an NJCAA Academic Team Award for 2017-18 with a cumulative grade point average of 3.02.  The Warriors were one of only 19 men's basketball squads in the country to receive the award given by the NJCAA to teams with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Coach Hank Plona said he's proud of last year's squad for their many achievements, and emphasized that the overall goal remains to succeed academically and athletically, graduate with an associate's degree, and move on to a Division I school to complete their bachelor's degree.  "Last year's team took that goal very seriously and always gave it their best effort every day in the classroom and on the basketball court," the coach said.  "The success on the court was easy to see, but I am just as happy to see that the hard work in the classroom has been recognized as a team achievement as well."

The IHCC coach applauded the faculty and staff at Indian Hills, saying, "They care about the academic experience of each student and go above and beyond to not only teach our students the course material, but also the work ethic, study habits and determination that will make all IHCC students successful.  An accomplishent like this is a total institutional success."

The IHCC hoops team is one of five athletic teams at Indian Hills to be named an Academic Team Award winner for this year.