Griz athletes receive academic honors

College is hard. So is maintaining an acceptable GPA while playing a sport at the University of Montana.

Nonetheless, 45 student-athletes were named to the fall Academic All-Big Sky Conference team, 22 of them achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA for autumn semester 2011.

The fall sport with the most athletes to make the list was the women's soccer team, which also won the Big Sky Championship this past fall for the first time since 2000. Grizzly soccer saw 19 of its 28 players achieve a GPA of at least 3.0, including junior defender Lauren Costa.

"We always try to get the highest GPA of all the female sports teams," Costa said.

Per NCAA rules, the women's soccer team can train a maximum of 20 hours each week. Costa says she also puts in at least 10-15 hours studying each week.

"Playing soccer actually helps because it gives you structure on how you should do things," said Costa, who started all 22 matches last season. "We know when we have to practice; we know when things are due. They give us a certain amount of time (for studying) that we have to take advantage of it."

Costa's teammate Tyler Adair gives credit to the coaching staff for the team's high cumulative GPA.

"They make sure that we recognize that we're student-athletes, and that we don't put the athlete before being a student," she said.

At a minimum, to compete in an NCAA Division I sport, a student-athlete must take at least 12 credit hours each semester and be in "good academic standing according to the standards of your institution," according to the summary of NCAA regulations.

To play as a Grizzly, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 1.8 by the start of his or her sophomore year, a 1.9 by their junior year, and a 2.0 as a senior, said Jean Gee, UM Senior Athletic Director.

However, 14 student-athletes were placed on academic probation last fall. All 14 athletes were either members of the football team, men's track team or men's basketball team.

Gee attributes the "rigorous NCAA academic progress requirements" as the main factor for UM athletes having success in the classroom.

"The built-in support network that student-athletes are a part of when they join a team – (it) helps them feel a connection to the University, and in turn, supports their academic endeavors," she said.

Last semester, the 272 athletes registered took an average of 13.29 credits and had a cumulative GPA of 3.06.

The 36 members of the women's track team averaged the most credit hours, with 15.32, while the men's basketball team took the fewest, averaging 11.78.

The highest team GPA belonged to the women's cross country team with 3.69, while the football team had the lowest with a 2.8.

dustin.askim@umontana.edu