By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech's student-athletes turned in an eye-popping performance in the classroom during the Spring 2024 semester, securing Golden Eagle Athletics' ninth-straight semester with a departmental GPA of at least 3.20.
During the spring, Tech's 15 programs produced a collective mark of 3.434, the second-highest recorded department-wide GPA. It also represented the 31st straight semester that Tech Athletics' cumulative GPA exceeded the 3.0 plateau, a legacy that began in Spring 2009.
"Our student-athletes continue year-in and year-out to amaze me with what they can accomplish in the classroom," Tech Assistant Athletic Director for Academics and Student Welfare Dr. Leveda Birdwell expressed. "They continued to thrive with their work as students first this spring with yet another historic GPA mark. We know we hold our student-athletes to high standards and to see them consistently respond to that challenge in such fashion is incredibly satisfying and exciting."
A whopping 14 Golden Eagle teams delivered GPAs above the 3.0 mark, marking the third consecutive semester that at least 13 of Tech's programs surpassed the 3.0 threshold.
"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," Wilson said. "It takes a lot of people throughout the University to help our student-athletes achieve such high marks, from our faculty who spend countless hours in the classroom, to the efforts of Dr. Leveda Birdwell and her staff of Samantha Bates, Kara Phillips, and Virginia Lewis, who keep an eye on their success and work so closely with them to keep them on track."
The Golden Eagle men's cross country team produced the department's top overall GPA with a team-record mark of 3.723. Finishing second was the tennis team with an impressive 3.710, the program's 32nd straight semester above a 3.0. Soccer completed the semester third among Tech squads, sporting a 3.697 for its 41st straight semester above the 3.0 mark.
The volleyball team's incredible streak of consecutive semesters with a GPA topping 3.0 grew to a whopping 48 in a row with a display of 3.641, the longest of any Golden Eagle program. Softball (3.611) and both indoor and outdoor track & field (3.382) joined the club of teams with at least 40 straight semesters above a 3.0.
Also keeping impressive streaks above the 3.0 threshold were women's cross country (3.420 - 24 straight) and women's golf (3.652 - 22 straight). Rounding out the group of teams above a 3.0 were baseball (3.410), men's golf (3.283), women's basketball (3.234), and football (3.054). It marked football's highest GPA outside of the 2020 spring semester (during COVID 19).
