EDWARDSVILLE – For the 24th consecutive semester, SIUE student-athletes recorded a cumulative grade point average higher than a 3.0.
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"What began 12 years ago as a measure of future excellence has now become a standard of performance expectation," said SIUE Director of Athletics Dr. Brad Hewitt.
The recently-completed 2018 spring semester saw 71.6 percent of SIUE student-athletes finishing the semester with a GPA above a 3.0. There were 41 student-athletes across SIUE sports who achieved a perfect 4.0. Seven of those were SIUE freshmen.
"SIUE, its athletic department staff and all academic units have created a supportive and motivational environment," said Hewitt. "That environment is now our culture of academic excellence. This permeates throughout the campus, including intercollegiate athletics."
SIUE student-athletes improved on their performance during the fall season of a 3.312 GPA. The 3.325 spring semester GPA is now the second-highest mark since becoming Division I, just shy of the 3.330 earned in spring 2017.
Eleven teams earned above 3.0, all of which were above a 3.3.
Volleyball earned the top spot in GPA among teams with a record-high 3.675 GPA. Softball (3.583) and women's cross country (3.577) round out the second and third overall top GPAs. Men's cross country regained their top spot for the men's teams with a 3.490 with men's soccer (3.480) in second and men's Golf (3.475) close behind.
Other sports which surpassed the 3.0 GPA mark are women's tennis (3.570), women's soccer (3.421), women's basketball (3.395), women's track and field (3.347) and men's track and field (3.324).
The men's team average GPA for the semester was 3.209 and the women's was 3.510. There are 104 student-athletes or 46 percent who made the dean's list.
"We have recruited high achieving students who also excel athletically," said Hewitt. "It's always a great day to be a Cougar."
