Eight Straight: Combined GPA tops 3.0 for eighth consecutive semester

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the eighth consecutive semester, 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 2012 fall semester was 3.143, the third-highest semester in school history. The Golden Eagle baseball team posted its highest team GPA in history and 11 of 14 squads were above the 3.0 plateau.

The successful marks continue a trend by Golden Eagle student-athletes, who have achieved the seven highest combined overall semester GPAs in the last seven 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. This semester's 3.143 GPA tied with the 2011 spring semester for the third-best.

“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 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.

In addition to baseball achieving it highest team GPA in history with a mark of 3.177, the women’s basketball (3.361) and soccer teams (3.432) each had their third-best semesters.

The Golden Eagle soccer team led all of Tech's teams. It marked the 15th consecutive semester that soccer has beaten the 3.0 milestone and 19th time in 20 semesters. Softball was second during the fall with a 3.408 GPA, it's 14th in a row above 3.0 and 18th time in 22 semesters. Third on the list was women's basketball, hitting the 3.0 milestone for the sixth consecutive semester.

The volleyball team owns the longest streak of consecutive semesters above 3.0 with 22 semesters dating all the way back to the fall 2000 marks. This semester, volleyball posted a 3.299 total which places it fourth among Tech's teams.

Also topping the 3.0 mark were women's cross country (3.244), women's outdoor track and women's indoor track (3.244), men's golf (3.208), men't tennis (3.208), baseball (3.177) ad men's cross country (3.171). Rounding out the list of teams were women's golf (2.994), football (2.6) and men's basketball (2.418).

The Golden Eagle women's golf team mark of 2.994 represented the largest increase over the previous semester, a jump of .407 points. Baseball had the second-largest improvement (.364), with women's cross country (2.284) the third-biggest increase.

The 2012 fall semester Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, which was announced earlier this month, included 216 students in athletics with a GPA of 3.0 or better for the past four-month session, the second-highest Honor Roll total in school history.