By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech's student-athletes turned in an eye-popping performance in the classroom during the Fall 2024 semester, securing Golden Eagle Athletics' 10th-straight semester with a departmental GPA of at least 3.20.
During the fall, Tech's 15 programs produced a collective mark of 3.467, the second-highest recorded department-wide GPA. It also represented the 32nd straight semester that Tech Athletics' cumulative GPA exceeded the 3.0 plateau, a legacy that began in Spring 2009.
"Golden Eagle student-athletes continuously inspire me with their dedication in the classroom and their ability to balance it with their athletic activities," Tech Assistant Athletic Director for Academics and Student Welfare Dr. Leveda Birdwell expressed. "Our student-athletes produced at an elite level with the books yet again, and it never gets tiring to see their hard work and efforts paying off with another historic 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 fourth consecutive semester that at least 13 of Tech's programs surpassed the 3.0 threshold.
"It takes a lot of people throughout the University to help our student-athletes achieve such high marks," Director of Athletics Mark Wilson said. "From our faculty who spend countless hours in the classroom, to the efforts of Dr. Birdwell and her staff of Dr. 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, 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."
The Golden Eagle women's basketball team produced the department's top overall GPA with a team-record mark of 3.795. Finishing second was the soccer team with an impressive 3.692, the program's 42nd straight semester above a 3.0. Tennis completed the semester third among Tech squads, sporting a 3.677 for its 33rd 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 49 in a row with a display of 3.637, the longest of any Golden Eagle program. Softball (3.626) and both indoor and outdoor track & field (3.366) joined the club of teams with at least 40 straight semesters above a 3.0, each sporting 41 consecutive.
Also keeping impressive streaks above the 3.0 threshold were women's cross country (3.298 - 25 straight) and women's golf (3.574 - 23 straight). Rounding out the group of teams above a 3.0 were men's cross country (3.520), men's golf (3.487), baseball (3.403), and men's basketball (3.041).
