NIU’s scholar-athletes will be honored at halftime of the men’s home basketball game against Loyola University tonight.

The NIU athletic department came up with the idea of honoring scholar-athletes with a 3.0 grade point average or better to shatter the stereotype that athletes cannot succeed academically.

Eighty-two NIU athletes will be honored with one of the following honors: 11 athletes will be honored as the Heralded Huskies (4.0 GPA), 23 athletes will be honored as the Victory Scholars (3.5 GPA or better), and 48 athletes will be honored as Huskie Scholars.

Also, 36 athletes will be honored as Huskie Achievers. Huskie Achievers are athletes who have improved their GPA by three-tenths of a point.

NIU Athletic Director Gerald O’Dell will present the awards.

Cary Groth, senior associate athletic director, said the athletic department staff came up with the idea of honoring these scholar-athletes to fight the stereotype that “athletes are not good students.”

Because the game against Loyola is also faculty night, the entire faculty has been invited to attend the game and honor the scholar-athletes they have educated.

Groth said, “We came up with this idea to congratulate and honor the student-athletes for their achievements and to show the public that they are students first and athletes second.”