With competition in NCAA-sanctioned winter sports in the books, UK Athletics is on pace for the best Directors’ Cup finish in school history. UK ranks 20th in the latest standings, one of the key metrics used by Mitch Barnhart to evaluate the program’s progress in competition.

With spring sports still in action on the field, a historic 2012-13 is already secure for UK Athletics in the classroom.

UK’s competing scholarship student-athletes combined for a cumulative grade-point average of 3.14 this spring, the highest for a single semester during Barnhart’s tenure. The record academic semester comes on the heels of a fall semester during which competing scholarship student-athletes combined for a 3.030 GPA.

“When I established the goal of a 3.0 overall GPA for our department, I knew I was setting the bar high,” Barnhart said. “To reach it for an entire athletic year for the first time is an accomplishment our student-athletes should be very proud of. I commend and thank them for their hard work.”

***See below for complete grade information for each sport***

Sixteen of UK’s 20 teams had GPAs of 3.0 or better, led by women’s tennis at 3.69. Four teams joined women’s tennis in posting GPAs higher than 3.5: women’s soccer (3.62), women’s swimming and diving (3.60), women’s cross country (3.59) and women’s golf (3.53). Leading the way for the Wildcat men’s teams was men’s basketball at 3.39.

“I am continually impressed by the way our student-athletes, coaches and staff embrace academics as an important part of our mission,” Barnhart said. “We are identified first by what we do in competition, but we are out to prove an athletic department can excel in all facets.”

The collective achievement this spring has been matched by numerous individual accomplishments as well, as 47 scholarship student-athletes earned a 4.0 this spring semester. In addition, 39 percent of scholarship athletes had GPAs of 3.5 or better and 70 percent were at 3.0 or better. UK also led all Southeastern Conference schools with 57 student-athletes on the league’s Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll.

Not included in that group because her sport is not played in the winter is Chelsea Oswald (women’s cross country/track), but she was named the SEC’s H. Boyd McWhorter Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in April. Megan Moir (women’s golf) also was named the Brad Davis SEC Female Community Service Leader of the Year, marking the first time since 1999 UK student-athletes have won both prestigious conference awards.

Note: All GPAs listed above are for competing scholarship student-athletes only. GPAs including non-scholarship athletes are listed in the chart below.