Carolina Athletes Succeed in the Classroom

May 23, 2006

A record-tying 12 of the University of South Carolina’s 17 athletic programs posted a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) or better for the Spring 2006 semester, it was announced today. It marked the second straight semester that a dozen of the athletics programs exceeded the 3.0 GPA plateau. The overall mean GPA of USC’s 454 student-athletes was 2.992, the highest on record, breaking last semester’s record mark of 2.978.

“Once again, this is a tremendous accomplishment for our student-athletes,” said Carolina Athletics Director Eric Hyman. “As I mentioned in the fall, one of our goals as an athletics department is to have our student-athletes compete, not only on the playing field, but in the classroom. It is a credit to both the student-athletes and the coaches for making academics a priority.”

For the sixth consecutive semester, the women’s golf team led the way with a team GPA of 3.606. The men’s golf team had the highest men’s team GPA with a 3.352. Both the football (2.596) and equestrian (3.311) teams turned in their highest GPAs on record.

Thirty-six student-athletes were named to the President’s List, which honors students with a perfect 4.0 GPA, while 117 student-athletes were named to the Dean’s List.

The Overall GPA for the entire USC student body was 3.057. The spring GPA for the 189 female student-athletes was 3.251, while the 265 men combined for a 2.806 spring GPA.

TEAM GRADE POINT AVERAGES (Spring, 2006):

Baseball 2.937

Men’s Basketball 1.947

Women’s Basketball 3.229

Equestrian 3.311

Football 2.596

Men’s Golf 3.352

Women’s Golf 3.606

Men’s Soccer 3.038

Women’s Soccer 3.263

Softball 3.421

Men’s Swimming & Diving 3.092