Student-athletes have an impressive academic year

Student-athletes may not have been able to compete on the field due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that has not stopped them from achieving competitive grade point averages and thriving academically. 

The Fall 2020 semester marked an impressive achievement for student-athletes. The 523 Golden Hawk student-athletes were able to raise their combined average GPA one whole grade point higher to a GPA of 8.10 compared to the 7.11 GPA from the previous 2019 Fall semester. 

Traditionally, Laurier’s student-athletes have achieved greater academic success when they are in-season competing for their teams. The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted the student-athletes, but it did not stop them from going above and beyond what was expected of them during this unprecedented time.

The impressive academic achievement was highlighted by 163 student-athletes who produced a GPA of 10.0 or higher, a 10 per cent increase from last year. 

Four teams in particular led the way in raising student-athlete GPA average. 

Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams, with a total of 51 student-athletes currently on the rosters, saw impressive jumps in the team’s GPA averages. The men’s team saw a jump of almost two full points, raising their GPA from 7.20 in the Fall 2019 semester to 9.11 this past Fall semester, while the women’s team has increased from 8.0 to 9.21. 

Laurier’s women’s basketball team, with 13 student-athletes on the roster, saw their GPA increase from 8.0 to 9.73. While women’s rugby, with a total of 33 student-athletes on the roster, rose their GPA average from 7.39 to 7.84. 

Laurier athletics is more than the success student-athletes find on the field; it holds them to a high academic standard that has been exceeded in the past fall semester.