UK Athletics’ 3.0 GPA Streak Reaches 18 Semesters
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 28, 2021) — With grades for the 2021 spring semester now finalized, University of Kentucky Athletics has surpassed its goal of a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average for 18 straight semesters.
Successfully navigating the challenges brought on by COVID-19 and the hybrid system of online and in-person classes, Wildcat scholarship student-athletes combined to achieve a GPA of 3.259.
“In what has been, almost certainly, the most challenging year to be a student-athlete, I’m proud of how the Wildcats have performed in the classroom,” Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “It also has been a unique time for our CATS staff, and I appreciate the work they did to help our student-athletes adapt to the changes.”
The Southeastern Conference champion women’s swimming and diving team also showed their academic skills, leading the department with a Spring 2021 GPA of 3.794. The baseball team led the way for UK men’s sports, posting a GPA of 3.441.
Individually, 366 Wildcats achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher, including 118 Cats who reached 4.0 for the semester.
UK’s high marks in the spring semester continue the trend of strong academic news:
- In November, it was announced that UK student-athletes broke both school records for NCAA Graduation Success Rate and Federal Graduation Rate. UK has broken or tied the GSR school record every year since the NCAA began measuring that statistic in 2005.
- Including the 2020 Winter Commencement and the 2021 May Commencement, 115 Wildcat student-athletes earned degrees or certifications during the academic year — 14 of whom were master’s degree graduates.
UK Athletics supports the academic success of its student-athletes through CATS — the first academic center of its kind dedicated solely to serving student-athletes. CATS is an important component of UK’s Student-Athlete Experience division, launched as a renewal of the department’s commitment to prepare student-athletes to enter life after UK.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.