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Athletics191 student-athletes (40%) posted a 3.00 gpa or better for the 2006-07 Academic Year. LSU was one of two institutions in the nation awarded the American Association of University Administrators Exemplary Models Award for 2006. The University was honored for its Race, Hip-Hop, and Sports Learning Community. At the conclusion of the 2005-06 regular season, LSU became the first school in the history of the Southeastern Conference to hold both the men's and women's outright league basketball championships in the same season. With the addition of the west upper deck in 2005, Tiger Stadium's maximum capacity is 92,300. When full, "Death Valley" contains more people than there are in 51 of Louisiana's 64 parishes. Tiger Stadium is the fifth-largest, on-campus facility in college football. In 2004, MSNBC rated Tiger Stadium sixth in the nation and third in the SEC for best football venues. Southeastern Conference coaches bestowed four top honors on the LSU Men's Basketball Team, naming Head Coach John Brady the 2006 SEC Coach of the Year, sophomore forward Glen Davis 2006 SEC Player of the Year, and freshman forward Tyrus Thomas the 2006 SEC Freshman of the Year. Davis and senior Darrell Mitchell were also named to the All-SEC first team, while Thomas was named to the second team. The LSU Tiger Band received the 2002 Sudler Trophy, awarded by the John Phillip Sousa Society to the outstanding college/university band in America. The Sudler is widely known in the band profession as the "Heisman Trophy for bands." LSU has led the nation in baseball attendance each of the last nine seasons. Last year alone, nearly 285,000 fans watched games in Alex Box Stadium. Former LSU baseball coach and current athletic director Skip Bertman is one of only two coaches to win five national championships. Bertman led the Tigers to College World Series titles in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 2000. He retired after the 2001 season with 870 career victories. Fifty-four percent of LSU student-athletes posted a 3.0 grade-point average or better during the 2006 spring semester. Of the 410 athletes, 30 posted perfect 4.0 averages. The men's tennis team's 3.5 average was the highest among sports. The women's golf team led all women's sports with a 3.4 average. The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes at LSU reigns in the top tier nationally of academic centers for university athletes. The state-of-the-art, 52,000 square-foot facility houses a 1,000 seat Internet accessible auditorium, tutorial center, computer lab, 2,800 square-foot resource library, meeting rooms, classrooms, an NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Center, and a Directed Studies Center. Eleven LSU student-athletes have won the prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholar Award. Most recently, LSU men's tennis player Bryan Fisher was one of 174 awardees given the scholarship in 2004. He is currently gaining work experience at Nike, taking advantage of the award's three-year deferral option, before returning for graduate study. Since 1959, 51 LSU student-athletes have been named Academic All-Americans. Voted on by NCAA member institutions, "All-American" is the most prestigious academic honor an athlete can receive. Since it was established in 1986, four LSU student-athletes have been named SEC McWhorter Scholar-Athletes of the Year, an award presented to only two athletes each year. Chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities, students receive $10,000 post-graduate scholarships provided by ALLTEL. In 1995, football player Michael Blanchard won this award and the University Medal for his perfect 4.0 grade-point average. The SEC Community Service Postgraduate Scholar Award is presented to two student-athletes annually. Two LSU athletes, both baseball players, have garnered the honor since its inception in 1996 - Jordan Faircloth in 2005 and Tim Lanier in 1997. Chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities, each received a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship, provided by the SEC.
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