Student-Athletes Shine in the Classroom
Athletics produced 173 students with a 3.0 GPA or better this fall, and 22 earned a 4.0.
Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns continue to enjoy success both on and off the field. An amazing 173 student-athletes posted a 3.0 grade-point-average or higher during the Fall 2007 semester. The total represents 45 percent of all student-athletes.
The female student-athletes GPA was an outstanding 3.08. Over 60 percent (89 of 148) of all female athletes earned a 3.0 or better. The number of male student-athletes to earn a 3.0 or better was just four shy of their female counterparts, as 85 male student-athletes garnered a 3.0 or greater.
The Cajuns’ 383 student-athletes earned a combined GPA of 2.76. In a model of consistency, the Cajuns earned a 2.77 GPA during the preceding Spring 2007 semester.
In fact, the Fall 2007 semester for athletics was only one-tenth of a point from the best GPA ever recorded by student-athletes at UL.
“I want to commend the outstanding academic accomplishments of our student-athletes,” senior associate AD Scott Farmer said. “We are very proud of their commitment to academics.”
Twenty-two Cajuns earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester, including starting quarterback Michael Desormeaux, All-Sun Belt women’s soccer performer Stephanie Lynch and Gatorade National High School Softball Player of the Year Ashley Brignac.
For Desormeaux, he was one of only five starting quarterbacks in the Football Bowl Subdivision to earn a 4.0.
An additional 55 student-athletes earned a 3.50-3.99, while 96 more logged between a 3.0-3.49.
The soccer team captured the best team GPA with a 3.461. It was soccer’s tenth consecutive semester with a team GPA greater than 3.0. The volleyball team posted a 3.185 to extend their streak of consecutive semesters with a team GPA greater than 3.0 to six. The golf team captured high honors for men’s programs with a 3.086 GPA.
Six teams posted a team GPA greater than 3.0, while two others narrowly missed having posted a GPA over 3.0 the previous semester. Ten of the Cajuns’ 13 teams had a team GPA of at least 2.75.
As academics continue to be stressed by the NCAA, student-athletes at UL continue to respond. Nine teams have posted their highest team GPA in over a decade within the last eight semesters. Football established a team record during the Spring 2007 semester, while men’s basketball notched its best performance ever in the Fall of 2006. Volleyball had a team GPA of 3.63 in the Fall of 2006, as every member of the team boasted greater than a 3.0. Baseball kick started a streak of three straight fall semesters with over a 3.0 with a 3.102 in the Fall 2005. Golf has posted better than a 3.0 team GPA for the last five fall semesters, including a decade-best 3.119 in the Fall of 2005. In addition to 10 straight semesters of a team GPA greater than 3.0, the soccer team had a team-record 3.461 this past fall – an amazing accomplishment during their competition season. Women’s tennis sported a 3.762 in the Spring of 2005, the highest recorded GPA for any team in the last decade.
Many times college athletes are recognized only for their athletic success, but Ragin’ Cajuns student-athletes put the student aspect in the forefront.
