April 11, 2016
Vanderbilt student-athletes continue to shatter records not only on the field, but also in the classroom. This past fall, the Commodores completed their best fall semester on record with a cumulative GPA of 3.088. Additionally, 12 teams posted GPAs of 3.0 or greater, including three teams with GPAs of 3.5 or higher.
The women’s tennis team had the highest GPA (3.543) in the fall, while the men’s cross country team had the highest GPA (3.527) of any men’s team in the fall.
Individually, 58 student-athletes were named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll, 110 had GPAs of 3.0 or greater, 81 made dean’s list and nine had 4.0 GPAs.
Seven student-athletes also received their degrees in December. They were: Jake Bernstein (football), Taylor Elliott (soccer), Darreon Herring (football), Kris Kentera (football), Jahmel McIntosh (football), Brian Kimbrow (former student-athlete), Spencer Pulley (football) and Andrew Williamson (football).
“We are extremely proud of our student-athletes’ academic performance for the fall of 2015,” said Elizabeth Wright, Assistant Athletic Director for Student Services and Director of Academic Support. “The GPA for the student-athlete population for the semester, a 3.088, is the highest fall semester GPA on record. This is a testament to the focus, dedication, and work ethic of our outstanding student-athletes.”
A few notable team academic highlights from the 2015 fall semester were:
- Women’s golf and men’s cross country teams had a GPA of over 3.5 for the sixth semester in a row
- Women’s tennis had its highest semester GPA since spring 2008
- Men’s basketball had its highest semester GPA of Coach Stallings’ era; five players with over 3.5 GPA
- Lacrosse had highest fall GPA since fall of 2011 with a 3.423
- Swimming had its highest team GPA since fall of 2012 as 15 of 21 student-athletes finished with 3.0 GPA or higher
- Ten of 12 bowlers were above 3.0 GPA, including one with a 4.0 GPA
- Women’s cross country finished with a GPA of 3.3 or higher for the 16th semester in a row
- Women’s track was above a 3.0 GPA for the fourth semester in a row
