A total of 285 University of Tennessee at Martin student-athletes earned a spot on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll during the Spring 2020 semester, leading to a departmental 3.26 Grade Point Average, which stands as the best academic semester in school history.
Established last fall, the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll features any Skyhawk student-athlete who registered at least a 3.0 GPA during the semester. The 285 student-athletes for the spring is an increase from the 219 student-athletes who received that accolade for the fall 2019 semester. The Skyhawk cross country/track and field and rodeo programs each led the way with 39 honorees apiece this spring with equestrian (38) and football (38) following closely behind.
A total of 65 student-athletes achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs in the spring, led by 14 members of the equestrian squad. Each of UT Martin’s 13 sports produced at least one student-athlete with an unblemished 4.0 GPA.
All in all, 12 Skyhawk athletic programs accumulated at least a 3.0 GPA with the lone other sport collecting a 2.85 GPA this past semester. The golf team’s 3.75 GPA was the highest of any UT Martin squad during the spring, while tennis (3.68), volleyball (3.66), soccer (3.60), softball (3.53) and equestrian (3.50) each sported GPAs at 3.5 or above.
“We are all so proud of our student-athletes for taking on this challenge during an unusual semester,” Skyhawk athletic director Kurt McGuffin said. “A large portion of the spring was done online but our student-athletes stayed focused and rose to the occasion. We have a terrific academic support services team who deserves a lot of credit. We are proud to claim the most student-athletes of any school in the Ohio Valley Conference and to have a 3.12 cumulative GPA for the 2019-20 academic year speaks volumes about our department’s commitment to excellence.”