Florida Gators student-athletes setting records inside classroom

A record number of student-athletes from the University of Florida finished the semester with a 3.0 or better GPA this fall.

A record number of student-athletes at the University of Florida have earned a 3.0 or better GPA over the fall semester, according to the University Athletic Association.

“A school-record 401 student-athletes earned a 3.0 or better GPA this fall while every program boasted a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for the first time. Collectively, UF student-athletes set another record by combining for a stellar 3.30 cumulative GPA featuring a 3.29 GPA for the fall semester.”

In addition to the academic success seen by the Gators this fall, student-athletes logged 1,556 community service hours with 33 Gainesville organizations across 144 involvement opportunities.

The men’s cross country led all male sports with a 3.43 GPA, and the women’s swimming and diving team led all female sports with a 3.67 GPA over the term.

The football team set a record with a 3.15 fall GPA. It’s the highest ever for a Gators team in a semester. Women’s golf also set a new record with a 3.59 semester GPA.

Forty-seven student-athletes earned a degree or certificate from Florida earlier this month.

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ACC schools ranked academically by U.S. News for 2022-23

We take a look at where all 14 Atlantic Coast Conference schools rank academically by the U.S. News report for the previous school year.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has a rich history of athletics in a variety of sports. But the conference also has a strong academic reputation.

According to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Colleges rankings, 13 of the ACC’s 14 schools rank in its list of the top 100 national universities. The site bases the rankings on student outcomes, graduation rates and faculty resources among other things.

Having 13 of the 14 in the top 100, including six of the top 50, is an impressive academic achievement for the ACC.

Duke took the top spot among ACC schools, but Virginia and North Carolina weren’t far behind. Let’s take a look at where all 14 ACC universities rank in the best-college rankings.

Thirteen Notre Dame players make ACC All-Academic Team

These players knew to hit the books before they hit the court.

Generally speaking, Notre Dame basketball is a very mixed bag right now. The women are coming off their second straight Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. After a historically bad season, the men have a new coach and need to somehow figure out how to fill up a roster with many gaps. The one thing both programs have in common is they have some very intelligent players.

As a reflection of Notre Dame’s high classroom standards, 13 basketball players have made their respective ACC All-Academic Teams. Specifically, seven women and six men were so honored. It’s the latest example of the university refusing to compromise its values if it means accepting student-athletes who won’t take their studies seriously. With this latest news, that stubbornness won’t change anytime soon.

Take a look at the players who are as good in the classroom as they are on the court. Maybe this can serve as an inspiration to a young person who is struggling with grades. If you are one of them, don’t give up because these men and women sure don’t. It’s the first ACC All-Academic selection for all players unless noted:

Notre Dame Leads in APR Public Recognition Awards

Notre Dame is known for their tough academic standards and again walked away with an impressive amount of student-athletes in 2020.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame led all Football Bowl Subdivision programs with 13 Academic Progress Rating (APR) Public Recognition Awards and totaled 13 perfect scores (1,000) in the latest set of statistics issued by the NCAA.

Each Fighting Irish program scored above the APR average in each sport, while men’s cross country, men’s fencing, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s track, softball, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse and women’s volleyball all earned perfect 1,000 scores.

Notre Dame’s 13 programs with scores of 1,000 tied with Stanford to lead all FBS programs and marked the fifth time in the 14-year history of the APR in which at least 13 Irish teams had scored perfectly (also in 2006, 2015, 2016 and 2018).

No other FBS institution has had more years of at least 13 perfect scores than Notre Dame. Only three schools (Notre Dame, Boston College and Stanford) in the 14-year history of the APR have had 13 or more teams post scores of 1,000 in a single report.

Notre Dame’s number of perfect scores of 1,000 has ranked either first or second among all FBS programs for 15 consecutive years. Notre Dame led FBS schools in 1,000 scores in 2019 (with 13, tied with Stanford), 2016 (with 16), 2015 (with an institutional record 17), 2013 and 2012 (both with 12), 2009 (with nine), 2008 (with eight, tied with Duke) and 2006 (with 14, tied with Boston College). Notre Dame finished second in number of 1,000 scores in 2018, 2017, 2014, 2011, 2010 and 2007.

The ACC once again had a strong showing as 83 teams from member schools received APR recognition awards, second-most among Power 5 conferences and third among all Division I conferences, trailing only the Ivy League (113) and Big Ten (84).

The APR, created to provide more of a real‐time measurement of academic success than graduation rates offer, is a team-based metric where scholarship student-athletes earn one point each term for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. Schools that don’t offer scholarships track their recruited student-athletes.

Every Division I sports team submits data to have its Academic Progress Rate calculated each academic year. The NCAA reports both single-year rates and four-year rates, on which penalties for poor academic performance are based. National aggregates are based on all teams with usable, member-provided data. APRs for each team, lists of teams receiving public recognition and those receiving sanctions are available online through the NCAA’s searchable database.

University of Notre Dame 
APR Ratings by Sport

Baseball — 990
Football — 970
Men’s Basketball — 989
Men’s Cross Country — 1,000
Men’s Fencing — 1,000
Men’s Golf — 988
Men’s Ice Hockey — 991
Men’s Lacrosse — 991
Men’s Soccer — 1,000
Men’s Swimming and Diving — 1,000
Men’s Tennis — 1,000
Men’s Track — 1,000
Softball — 1,000
Women’s Basketball — 995
Women’s Cross Country — 995
Women’s Fencing — 993
Women’s Golf — 1,000
Women’s Lacrosse — 1,000
Women’s Rowing — 993
Women’s Soccer — 1,000
Women’s Swimming and Diving — 1,000
Women’s Tennis — 1,000
Women’s Track — 992
Women’s Track, Indoor (Prior to 2015) — 992
Women’s Track, Outdoor (Prior to 2015) — 990
Women’s Volleyball — 1,000

Here is where Notre Dame has ranked annually among FBS institutions in terms of raw numbers of individual team 1,000 APR scores:

2020 —  1. (tie) Notre Dame (7 men’s sports, 6 women’s sports), Stanford 13; 3. Northwestern 12; 4. Arizona State 11; 5. (tie) Temple, California 10

2019 — 1. Notre Dame 13 (6 men’s sports, 7 women’s sports); 2. (tie) Stanford, Northwestern 12; 4. Boston College 11; 5. Syracuse 9

2018 — 1. Stanford 16; 2. Notre Dame 12 (5 men’s, 7 women’s); 3. (tie) Boston College, Northwestern 11; 5. (tie) Duke, North Carolina 10.

2017 — 1. Stanford 14; 2. Notre Dame 12 (4 men’s, 8 women’s) , 3. Boston College 11; 4. (tie), Duke, Minnesota, Northwestern 9; 7. Michigan 8; 8. (tie) California, North Carolina, Rice, Rutgers 7.

2016 —  1. Notre Dame 16 (7 men’s, 9 women’s); 2. Stanford 14; 3. Boston College 12; 4. Minnesota 11; 5. Rice 10; 6. (tie) Duke, Northwestern 9; 8. Tulane 7, 9. (tie) Auburn, Michigan, North Carolina 6.

2015 — 1. Notre Dame 17 (9 men’s, 8 women’s) ; 2. Stanford 15; 3. Northwestern 12; 4. Boston College 10; 5. Duke 9; 6. Minnesota 7; 7. (tie) Arizona State, Tulane, Vanderbilt 7; 10. (tie) Illinois, North Carolina, Penn State, Rice 6.

2014 — 1. Stanford 12; 2. Notre Dame 11 (7 men’s, 4 women’s), 3. Northwestern 10; 4. Minnesota 9; 5. (tie) Boston College, Duke 8; 7. Penn State 7; 8. (tie) Ohio State, Vanderbilt 6.

2013 — 1. Notre Dame 12 (8 men’s, 4 women’s) , 2. Stanford 11; 3. Duke 10; 4. (tie) Boston College, Northwestern 9; 6. Vanderbilt 7; 7. Rice 6.

2012 — 1. Notre Dame 12 (8 men’s, 4 women’s) ; 2. (tie) Boston College, Duke 9; 4. (tie) Northwestern, Vanderbilt 8; 6. Stanford 7; 7. (tie) North Carolina, Rice, Texas 5.

2011 — 1. Duke 10; 2. Notre Dame 9 (5 men’s, 4 women’s); 3. Boston College 6, 4. (tie) Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Texas, Tulane, U.S. Naval Academy, Vanderbilt 5.

2010 — 1. Duke 10, 2. Notre Dame 8 (5 men’s, 3 women’s); 3. Boston College 7.

2009 — 1. Notre Dame 9 (4 men’s, 5 women’s); 2. Duke 8; 3. (tie) Boston College, Stanford 6; 5. U.S. Naval Academy 5; 6. Michigan 4.

2008 — 1. (tie) Notre Dame (5 men’s, 3 women’s), Duke 8; 3. Boston College 7; 4. Stanford 5; 5. (tie) Northwestern, Rice, U.S. Naval Academy 4.

2007 — 1. Boston College 10, 2. Notre Dame 9 (5 men’s, 4 women’s); 3. (tie) Rice, Stanford, U.S. Naval Academy 7; 6. Duke 6; 7. Northwestern 5.

2006 — 1. (tie) Notre Dame (7 men’s, 7 women’s), Boston College 14.