WHITEFISH, Mont. –Four players from the University of Providence men's basketball team were named Academic All-Conference on Tuesday by the Frontier Conference. 

Dawson Fowler (exercise science), Jake Olsen (exercise science), Connor Murgel (biology) and Fisher Richardson (business administration) were all recognized for their academic achievements.

"Those guys are great kids on and off the floor," head coach Steve Keller said. "We're real proud of them. We push our other guys to try and be as good in the classroom as those guys are."

To be eligible for the team, the student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and maintain a 3.2 GPA or higher.

Academic success is one of the most important areas that the coaching staff looks at when evaluating prospective student-athletes.

"They are here to get their degree," Keller said. "It's important that I don't think you're just a hard worker on the basketball floor. Hard workers are hard workers all the time, whether it be in the classroom, at practice, or at your job. Those are the kids we want."