Student athletes make academic history

Seventeen of 19 teams and a record number of student athletes (329) had a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the spring 2012 semester.

“UofL can be proud of the fact that our student athletes are making a name for themselves as STUDENT athletes” said faculty athletics representative Elaine Wise in an email. “Their academic performance is distinguished and reflects the joint commitment of these students, their academic advisers, their professors, their coaches and the administration to academic excellence at UofL.”

For the second consecutive semester, the women’s golf team had the highest overall GPA.

Nine teams or players on those teams received national recognition for academic achievement, while seven UofL student athletes earned BIG EAST Conference Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Awards, the most of any BIG EAST school.

The stellar academic performances have been a team effort with UofL’s student athletes working hard in the classroom, and UofL faculty and staff providing the support, said Marvin Mitchell, senior associate athletic director for student services and diversity.

“We want the best for each and every student that participates in our athletic programs,” he said, “so having the best academic services staff in the country is critical. They put in long hours with our students and have helped produce another banner year filled with conference, regional and national academic excellence awards and honors.”