Huntington Athletics Wins NYSPHSAA Schools of Excellence Award
July 17, 2026
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association, Inc. (NYSPHSAA) announced late Thursday afternoon its latest round of Schools of Distinction and Schools of Excellence honorees, NYPHSAA said it was recognizing member schools “that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to academic achievement throughout the 2025/26 school year.”
The purpose of the School of Distinction and School of Excellence Awards is to unite athletic departments in challenging every varsity team to achieve statewide academic recognition through the NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete program.
Fall Season: Huntington’s football, girls’ swimming and diving, field hockey, girls’ cross country, boys’ cross country, boys’ golf, girls’ soccer, Unified bocce, girls’ tennis, boys’ volleyball and girls’ volleyball programs all captured state scholar athlete team awards in the fall season.
Winter Season: Huntington’s boys’ swimming and diving, girls’ basketball, girls’ fencing and boys’ fencing, girls’ indoor track and field, boys’ indoor track and field, girls’ wrestling and Unified bowling teams won state awards based on the grade point averages of respective team members during the winter season.
Spring Season: The varsity baseball, softball, girls’ track and field, boys’ track and field, girls’ badminton, boys’ tennis, girls’ lacrosse, boys’ lacrosse, Unified co-ed basketball, girls’ flag football and girls’ golf were all honored with the State Scholar Athlete Team Award.
For the 2025/26 school year, 118 schools earned the School of Distinction Award, while 237 schools earned the School of Excellence Award. This compares to 110 Schools of Distinction and 221 Schools of Excellence during the 2024/25 school year.
"The commitment demonstrated by our member schools to academic excellence continues to be one of the greatest strengths of educational-based athletics," said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. "These awards recognize entire school communities that value success in the classroom as much as success in competition."
Schools qualify for the School of Distinction Award by having 100 percent of their varsity teams earn NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete Team recognition during their respective sports seasons. To earn the School of Excellence Award, 75 percent or more of a school's varsity teams must achieve Scholar-Athlete Team status.
The complete list of 2025-2026 award recipients can be viewed using the links below.