GPAs Another Indicator of Kansas' Spring Success

LAWRENCE, Kan. – More than half of Kansas student-athletes on active rosters were named to the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll in an effort that saw the combined overall grade point average (GPA) of Jayhawks rise close to 3.0 for the spring semester.

A total of 214 Jayhawks (52 percent of students on active rosters), earned better than a 3.0 during a semester that saw four Kansas teams – men’s basketball, women’s golf, baseball and softball – advance to NCAA Tournament play, along with a handful of track and field athletes (indoor and outdoor) and a swimmer who competed for top honors at NCAA Championship meets. As a department, the Jayhawks posted a 2.97 GPA, up two thousandths of a point from the fall and three thousandths of a point from a year ago.

“First of all, it’s a tremendous testament to the effort our student-athletes put forth on the field and with their studies,” Paul Buskirk, associate athletics director for student-athlete support services, said. “But furthermore, as the demands of postseason travel increase so do the demands on KU faculty and support staff, and we couldn’t be more appreciative of the collaboration it takes to meet student-athlete needs.”

Kansas volleyball posted the highest marks for the spring semester with a 3.47 combined team GPA, followed closely by the tennis team at 3.46 and six other Jayhawk teams – soccer (3.34), swimming and diving (3.31), men’s golf (3.26), women’s golf (3.26), rowing (3.17) and softball (3.0) – that recorded a cumulative 3.0 or higher. Individually, 33 Kansas student-athletes achieved a perfect 4.0 during the spring semester with 181 scoring between 3.00 and 3.99.

The effort follows previous favorable Academic Progress Rate (APR) numbers released by the NCAA in May and should mean more of the same for Kansas student-athletes next year. Five Kansas teams achieved perfect one-year scores, based on the latest data from the 2012-13 class, and men’s basketball and volleyball were honored with the NCAA Public Recognition Award for Achieving scores among the top 10 percent of their respective sports. Earlier in the school year, five Kansas teams achieved perfect scores as the department topped the national Graduation Success Rate (GSR) average released in October. The department’s 84 percent GSR was one point off the program record set the year prior.

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