University of Minnesota Athletics
Inside Gopher Athletics: Making the Grade
6/7/2018 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
June 7, 2018
In some iteration, it's said often by athletics directors around the country, so much that it's become a bit cliche;. Count me among those that say it often.
We want our student-athletes to achieve at the highest levels - academically, athletically and socially.
You hear it said often because this is the goal of almost every AD. It's certainly my goal for every Gopher student-athlete. There's nothing more important to me than providing a first-class experience for every young man and woman who competes for Minnesota, and preparing them to excel in all three of those areas. Without hesitation, I also often say that we're successfully doing that right now at the U.
We still have three teams competing as we move into the summer months sitting in the top 10 nationally in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings. Baseball is preparing for this weekend's NCAA Super Regional at Oregon State, looking to continue the program's deepest run in the NCAA tournament in 41 years. About an hour away in Eugene, Ore., our men's and women's track and field teams have a combined 17 students competing at the NCAA Championships, including a program-record 14 on the women's side. We have had so much athletic success this year, but I want to wait until everyone is done with their seasons before recapping that for you.
The spring term of the 2017-18 academic year recently ended. We're now seeing final grades, scores and awards pouring in for Gopher student-athletes. The results that these talented students produced in the classroom this year are simply awesome.
Collectively, Gopher Athletics currently holds the highest cumulative grade-point average since the department began keeping records, 3.24. Across the board, our 25 programs are making the grade. Each and every one of our teams had a GPA of 3.0 or better during the recently completed spring semester.
Those strong grades are helping Gopher student-athletes graduate in record numbers. Earlier this year, we announced a 92 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), a new department high. It's not only the best number in the history of Gopher Athletics, it's also the best among all public schools in the Big Ten. Those graduating students are pursuing a wide variety of passions, with more than 80 different majors represented by our 700-plus student-athletes.
That type of success has led to a collection of accolades, including:
- 351 Gophers were named Academic All-Big Ten this year, a department record.
- 23 Gophers were named Academic All-District, the second-highest total in our history.
- 15 Gopher programs put up a perfect 1,000 in the NCAA's single-year Academic Progress Rate (APR).
- 7 Gopher teams were honored with APR Public Recognition Awards for being among the top-10 percent nationally in their respective sports.
When it comes to academic success, our student-athletes are thriving among some of the brightest students and faculty from around the globe at a world-class academic institution. At Minnesota, we are delivering on that experience that so many ADs hope to provide their student-athletes, one in which they excel academically, athletically and socially.
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