Once again, SHU athletes reach new academic heights

According to Seton Hall Athletics, the cumulative GPA for student-athletes is at an all-time high for the 11th semester in a row. Pirate athletes compiled an average team GPA of 3.380 this past fall semester, while the average student GPA climbed to 3.353. For context, SHU requires a minimum GPA of 3.3 for the University’s Honors Program. Combined, the athletes are performing at that level. Additionally, the minimum GPA required to remain eligible is 2.0. Seton Hall athletes are blowing that number out of the water. “Academic excellence has long been at the heart of what it means to be a Pirate and we could not be more proud of the work our current student-athletes and academic support staff are doing to further that tradition,” Vice President and Director of Athletics & Recreational Services Pat Lyons in a SHU Athletics press release. Over 58 percent of student-athletes earned a spot on the fall semester Dean’s List.

“Even though we are here with them on a day-to-day basis and we see how hard our student-athletes work, they still manage to impress us,” Matt Geibel, director of academic support services, said. In May, it was announced that six Seton Hall athletics programs “received public recognition for posting a multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) in the top 10 percent of their respective sports.” Those teams were women’s golf, tennis, softball, baseball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. Cleary, the fall sports are not the only ones thriving in the classroom. In November of 2013, Seton Hall opened the Charles W. Doehler Academic Center for Excellence. Perhaps that has been a factor in the continued academic success of athletes. “As a department, nothing is more important to us than providing our student-athletes with an opportunity to succeed both on the field and in the classroom,” Lyons said. “Whether it has been through the construction of the Charles W. Doehler Academic Center for Excellence or the institution of the Helping Athletes Learn to be Leaders (H.A.L.L.) Program, we have implemented a number of changes aimed at positioning our student-athletes to excel. The results however, are a testament to their efforts and approach to balancing all that is asked of them.”