UK Athletics Posts Record GPA for 2014 Spring Semester

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 22, 2014) — In the midst of a record-setting athletic season, University of Kentucky Wildcat student-athletes combined for their best academic semester since 2002-03, the first year for which complete grade information is available.

Continuing to raise the bar in the classroom, scholarship Wildcats combined for a 3.218 cumulative grade-point average for the spring semester. UK Athletics has now posted GPAs of at least 3.0 in four consecutive semesters.

“We have great expectations for our student-athletes, but to get to this spot is special,” Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “I know how hard our kids work every day, and I’m so proud to see it pay off like this. This semester is proof of the commitment they have made in the classroom.”

Of UK’s 20 teams, 18 posted GPAs of better than 3.0. The women’s swimming and diving team led the way with a 3.728 GPA, closely followed by women’s cross country (3.667), softball (3.599), women’s tennis (3.546) and rifle (3.517). Men’s tennis (3.401) led all UK men’s teams.

Women’s swimming and diving, softball and men’s and women’s tennis were among 13 teams to attain 3.0 GPAs while also competing in the championship portions of their schedule. Included in that group was the men’s basketball team, which posted a 3.050 cumulative GPA and reached the national championship game in April.

“Balancing schoolwork and competition is not easy,” Barnhart said. “Excelling in both is an incredible achievement and the fact that some of our top performers on the field are some of our best students is really special.”

In total, 325 Wildcats — scholarship and non-scholarship — earned GPAs of 3.0 or better, accounting for more than 60 percent of UK’s student-athlete population of 508. Seventy-one of those student-athletes had perfect 4.0 GPAs this spring.

“Our student-athletes get the work done, but our coaches and the staff at CATS (Center for Academic and Tutorial Services) are important pieces of the puzzle,” Barnhart said. “I want to thank them for everything they do.”

With the streak of four straight semesters of GPAs of 3.0 or better, the Wildcats continue to make progress toward the goals set forth in Barnhart’s 15 by 15 by 15 Plan. UK ranks No. 14 in the latest national all-sports standings, on pace for the best finish in the 20-year history of the Directors’ Cup, and has 11 conference or national championships since November of 2008.

MEDIA CONTACT: Tony Neely, tneely@uky.edu, 859-257-3838; Guy Ramsey, guy.ramsey@uky.edu, 859-257-3838.