UCF student-athletes recently concluded yet another record-breaking year in the classroom.
The Knights compiled a 3.17 grade-point average for the spring term, the highest student-athlete GPA for a single semester in school history. In addition, UCF student-athletes compiled an average GPA of 3.14 for the 2012-13 academic year, which was also the best mark for the Knights.
“I’m extremely proud of the semester we have had academically and we continue to be strong in this area,” said Kimya Massey, UCF’s Associate Athletic Director for Academic Services and Director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes. “We knew it would be a good term overall, but to break records and continue to push the standard even higher is a credit to our student-athletes and their desire to be excellent in whatever they do. I must also complement the ASSA staff for their constant support and willingness to help our student-athletes achieve their goals.”
UCF student-athletes have now recorded an average GPA of 3.0 or better for 11 consecutive semesters. Twelve of the Knights’ 16 sports programs were at or above a 3.0 for the spring term. Individually, 227 Knights student-athletes recorded a spring term GPA of 3.0 or better. Of that number, 27 earned a perfect 4.0 and 61 were at 3.75 or above.
Knight student-athletes said the UCF academic support personnel and their coaches impress upon them the importance of academics.
“Each member of the Academic Services staff does their best to put the student-athlete first,” women’s tennis player Jenna Doerfler said. “I have had nothing but extremely positive experiences with anyone I have worked with on the staff. The staff has always gone out of their way to help the student-athletes who come to them. My coaches have always made the importance of academics clear to us. We have team academic goals at the beginning of each semester. The coaches and staff do a great job working together with us to make sure we’re on track.”
“I believe our fall GPA motivated us and our academic advisor Sarah Hill pushed us all to do even better,” said women’s basketball player Erika Jones. “Our coaches asked about our schoolwork as often as they could, so that was helpful and greatly appreciated.”
Seven of UCF’s athletic teams set program records for spring term GPAs. Football (2.95), men’s basketball (2.85), women’s basketball (3.14), men’s golf (3.43), men’s soccer (3.29), softball (3.42) and track and field (3.31) all recorded the best spring term GPA in their teams’ histories.
Men’s golf led all teams in the spring with a 3.43 GPA, while the top women’s team was softball at 3.42. The UCF volleyball program continued its department-best streak of semesters at 3.0 or above, achieving that mark for the 12th straight term. Men’s basketball and football added to the records, compiling the best academic year GPAs ever for the two programs.