Once again: Combined 14-team GPA tops 3.0 for ninth consecutive semester

By Rob Schabert, Sports Information Director  RSchabert@tntech.edu

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Nobody is complaining that these results are getting to be monotonous. In fact, it’s quite the contrary – everyone is rather elated.

For the ninth consecutive semester – every semester since the 2009 spring session -- Tennessee Tech’s student-athletes have teamed up to top 3.0 for their combined grade point average (GPA). The 14-team GPA for the 2013 Spring semester was 3.161, the third-highest semester in school history.

The Golden Eagle tennis team led the way, while the baseball and football teams posted their highest team GPAs in history. The volleyball team had the highest combined Fall/Spring average, and academic year 2012-13 resulted in the highest percentage of teams (79 percent) posting team GPAs above 3.0. In each semester, 11 of Tech’s 14 squads were above the 3.0 plateau.

Shown in photo: May graduates from the tennis team, Syrym Abdukhalikov and Arturo Santa Ruiz celebrate

The successful Spring marks continue a trend by Golden Eagle student-athletes, who have achieved the nine highest combined overall semester GPAs in the last nine semesters. The highest combined GPA was a 3.196 mark in the 2010 spring semester, while the second-best semester was a 3.171 mark in the 2010 fall grading period.

“Academic success is an area we focus on and have placed a lot of emphasis in, and these results provide positive feedback that we are continuing to achieve our goals,” said TTU Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. “We are extremely proud of our student-athletes. Ultimately, they are the ones who have done the coursework and achieved these grades.

“From the student-athletes to the coaching staffs to the administration, there is a strong commitment toward academic success, and these results continue to show that the programs we have in place, such as the WIN (Work Intensely Now) program, are working. These positive academic trends are a testament to the efforts of all of the people involved, and the work of (TTU Assistant Athletic Director for Academics) Dr. Lance Jasitt and his staff,” Wilson said.

The baseball team achieved its highest team GPA in history with a mark of 3.215 while winning the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship and setting the school record for most wins in a season. They beat their previous high of 3.177 earned during Fall 2012.

The Golden Eagle football team also notched its highest Team GPA in program history with a 2.899 mark, topping their 2.723 earned during Spring 2012. 

The Golden Eagle tennis team led all of Tech's teams with a 3.458 Team GPA while also capturing the OVC regular season championship, edging ahead of volleyball with a 3.418 mark. It wasn’t a surprise for coach Kenny Doyle’s team to top the list, however, after the team also led the list in the Spring 2012 period. It marked the 10^th consecutive semester that the tennis team topped the 3.0 milestone.

Volleyball posted a 3.418 mark in the Spring following a 3.299 in the Fall. The Golden Eagle volleyball team owns the longest streak of consecutive semesters above 3.0 with 24 semesters dating all the way back to the fall 2000 marks.

The women’s indoor (3.305) and outdoor (3.280) track teams, along with the cross country squad (3.295), were the next three on the list. Others that produced better than 3.0 Team GPAs include soccer (3.257), softball (3.219), baseball (3.215), men’s golf (3.161), men’s cross country (3.159), and women’s golf (3.115).

Rounding out the list of teams were women's basketball (2.983), football (2.899) and men's basketball (2.489).

Several teams added to their streaks of consecutive semesters above the mark. For soccer, it is the 17^th consecutive and 21^st in the last 22 semesters, and for softball, the Spring 2013 results were the 16^th in a row and 20^th in the last 22.

The 2013 Spring semester Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, which was announced earlier this month, included 214 students in athletics with a GPA of 3.0 or better for the past four-month session, the third-highest Honor Roll total in school history.