UK Athletics’ 3.0 GPA Streak Reaches 24 Straight Semesters

LEXINGTON, Ky. – With grades for the 2024 spring semester now finalized, University of Kentucky Athletics has surpassed its goal of a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average for 24 straight semesters, as Wildcat scholarship student-athletes combined to achieve a GPA of 3.27. Including non-scholarship athletes from all sports, the overall UK Athletics GPA was 3.30.

“I’m proud of the consistency shown in achieving 24 straight semesters of a 3.0 GPA,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK Director of Athletics.  “Strong GPAs are the foundation of graduation and the numerous academic awards and honors our student-athletes have won. Congratulations to our students for another outstanding semester and thanks to our academic staff and coaches for their guidance and encouragement.”

The men’s cross country team led the department with a spring GPA of 3.738 in the all student-athlete category, setting the benchmark among all 23 varsity teams. Men’s cross country was the highest men’s team GPA in either category with a 3.645 in competing scholarship. The women’s soccer team had the benchmark GPA in the competing scholarship category at 3.708. The women’s swimming and diving team topped the women’s side in the all student-athlete category with a 3.676.

Individually, 465 Wildcats achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher, including 139 Cats who reached 4.0 for the semester.

UK’s high marks in the spring semester continue the trend of strong academic news:

• Spring graduation marked yet another milestone of academic success as UK Athletics had a total of 163 graduates during the 2023-24 school year alone.
• The 2023 fall semester was the 23rd straight for UK Athletics with a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average as Wildcat scholarship student-athletes combined to achieve a GPA of 3.336. It was the second-highest GPA for a semester for UK Athletics.
• Fifty-nine Wildcats were recently named to the 2023-24 Winter Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll for having a 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding academic year or a cumulative 3.0 GPA.
• Recently, UK tied the school record for its NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 92 percent, one point above the national average of 91 percent. All of UK’s teams surpassed the mandatory score for the NCAA Academic Progress Rate. UK’s overall APR rate was higher than the overall national average.
• In August 2023, UK Athletics announced a school-record 12 Academic All-Americans for the 2022-23 school year from the College Sports Communicators organization.
• Nineteen current and former UK student-athletes were honored by the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Board with Academic Excellence Awards, it was announced in February.

UK Athletics supports the academic success of its student-athletes through CATS – the first academic center of its kind dedicated solely to serving student-athletes. CATS is an important component of UK’s Student-Athlete Experience division, launched as a renewal of the department’s commitment to prepare student-athletes to enter life after UK.