By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The mission for Tennessee Tech Athletics is to see its student-athletes leave with a diploma in one hand and a championship ring on the other.
In the classroom, the student-athletes are certainly earning their high marks. For the 21st consecutive semester, the Tennessee Tech student-athletes have posted a composite grade point average higher than 3.0, clocking in at 3.117 for the Spring 2019 semester.
"We have high expectations for our student-athletes at Tennessee Tech," said director of athletics Mark Wilson. "As active members of our campus community, our student-athletes should be a shining example not just on the playing fields and courts, but also in the classroom. Our expectations will never waver as we will continue to seek the best and brightest and help shape the men and women who will ultimately shape our future."
That was already visible with the large graduating group earlier this month as 63 student-athletes earned their degrees from Tech in the Spring 2019 commencement exercises.
In an improvement from the Fall 2018 statistics, 11 of Tech's 14 teams finished with a grade point average above 3.0, with two other teams within striking distance of that mark.
Soccer had the highest GPA in the spring semester as the team collected a 3.715 mark, the highest ever GPA for any Tech team and the fourth consecutive semester that the soccer team finished at the top of the charts. Even more impressive was that every member of the team recorded a 3.0 or better for the semester.
Volleyball continued its 19-year run of academic success, collecting its 38th consecutive semester of a 3.0-or-better GPA, while soccer's streak extends to 31 straight semesters. Softball and women's indoor and outdoor track and field saw their streaks extend to 30 straight semesters, while tennis collected its 22nd, women's cross country its 14th and women's golf its 13th.
Volleyball finished second in the GPA race, reaching a 3.469 mark, while tennis was third with a 3.391. Women's golf (3.378) and softball (3.324) rounded out the top five.
"It takes a lot of people throughout the University to help our student-athletes achieve such high marks," Wilson said. "From our faculty who spend countless hours in the classroom to the efforts of (Assistant Athletics Director for Academics and Student-Athlete Welfare) Leveda Dexter and her staff who keep an eye on their success, it means so much to me, to our department and to our University to see these young men and women excel in so many ways."
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
