JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville University student-athletes have once again set a new bar for academic performance. After the conclusion of the Spring 2022 term, the athletic department GPA came to 3.38, the highest semester mark in JU Athletics history. Seventeen of the department's programs earned a 3.0 or higher this spring and a record twelve teams earned a 3.33 or better. 

"Our student-athletes continue to raise the standard in the classroom, on the playing surface, and out in the community," Senior Vice President and Athletic Director Alex Ricker-Gilbert said. "I offer my congratulations to each of our student-athletes for achieving the highest semester GPA in the history of our department. I also would like to express my appreciation to the staff in Student-Athlete Services, our coaches, and faculty for their support of our student-athletes. There is a reason why student comes before athlete and our men and women exemplify what it means to be well-rounded."
 
By the end of the spring semester, 79 percent (341 total) of Dolphins recorded a GPA of 3.0 or higher and 78 percent (337 total) recorded a 3.0 or greater for the academic year. Due in part to those successes,116 graduates had degrees conferred and 221 student-athletes will garner ASUN Honor Roll recognition, not including the additional 33 from the Women's Rowing team that earned spots on the MAAC Honor Roll and 43 from Men's Lacrosse that made the SoCon Honor Roll.

"This achievement only happens through a unified effort, with players, coaches, and staff being completely on board," Associate Athletic Director Andy Heston said. "It really starts at the top with the tone set by our Athletic Director. From there, the type of high character, teachable students our coaches have been bringing to campus in recent time has been simply remarkable. I cannot remember a collective group of student-athletes that have been more inspiring to watch work, both in the classroom and in the community. It has been a pleasure for our Student-Athlete Services staff to serve this group, witnessing so many students and teams reaching their GPA goals."
 
Leading all teams this spring in GPA, was the Women's Cross Country team, with a GPA of 3.895, shattering a prior team record. Director of Cross Country/Track & Field, Ron Grigg, also led Women's Track & Field to a record semester, sporting a 3.66 this spring. "GPAs are a statistical representation of the work ethic and commitment our student-athletes to their academic endeavors," Coach Grigg said. "With great support from Taylor Miller in Student-Athlete Services and from our excellent professors, our team has the resources they need to maximize their opportunities. I am proud of their process and their results."

The Men's Golf program led all male sports with a 3.53 GPA in the spring, while also setting their best academic year GPA mark in program history, with a 3.62 for 2021-22. In only his third season as head coach, Jamey Salmon came away appreciative of the effort from his men. "We couldn't be prouder of our group of guys," Salmon said. "They put in so much hard work in the classroom and on the golf course. We have always made it program goal to recruit great student-athletes and that is exactly what we have on our team."
 
For large roster sports with greater than 25 students, Women's Lacrosse continued to carry the torch with a 3.72 posted for the spring and a 3.70 for the academic year. Both of these marks fell just hundredths shy of their historic figures set just one year ago in 2020-21. Longtime head coach Mindy McCord was elated with her team's results and overall impact. "Our team's high performance in the classroom is a direct result of their hard work, and most importantly their desire to be leaders and create relationships with their professors," McCord said. "JU is an amazing university where you can truly major in whatever field of study you want and play on a top-20 team. This is a very unique opportunity that our players value and appreciate, thus our collective team effort and result."

With a large portion of the student population still adjusting to coming back from virtual or hybrid learning environments, student-athletes continued to thrive across all four colleges at JU. This year's student-athlete cohort was particularly notable in that it brought about the widest distribution of academic programs ever sought during an academic year. From nursing, to engineering, to film, student-athlete representation across campus was at an all-time high. Additionally, with extended eligibility offered by the NCAA in response to the pandemic, a record 34 graduate students were a part of the 2021-2022 JU student-athlete population. 

"As the educational impacts of COVID are still with us, I am extremely proud of the resiliency of our students, but also with the efforts of our faculty and staff in helping us gradually get back to some semblance of normal," Associate AD Heston said. "This is a reenergized campus community that is anything but complacent. I am already fired up to see what 2022-23 has in store!"
 
The 2022-23 academic year will begin on Monday, August 8, with athletic events soon to follow. Fall sport schedules will be released in the coming months on judolphins.com.