Southern Polytechnic State University's Runnin' Hornets basketball team has received the 2000 Sears Collegiate Champions trophy and scholarship. Sears awards a $1,000 scholarship annually to sports teams who finish first in their respective divisions. Each year, Sears presents more than 2,200 trophies and than a quarter of a million in academic scholarships. The awards honor men's and women's sports equally at all NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA four-year institution.

"This is a wonderful honor for head coach Mike Helfer and the team. We were not favored to win the conference and through hard work the team was able to do so," said Karl Staber, athletic director at Southern Polytechnic State University.

Last season the Southern Polytechnic State University Runnin' Hornets finished with a 28-7 record, won the regular season GACC championship and the GACC tournament championship, and advanced to the round of 16 in the NAIA national championship.

Southern Polytechnic State University is a residential university with approximately 4,000 students pursuing bachelor's and master's degrees in many of the nation's fastest-growing fields related to engineering and technology. One mile west of I-75's Exit 263, the university is just 20 minutes northwest of downtown Atlanta, GA.