OU Student-Athletes Post 3.06 GPA, Tying School Record

University of Oklahoma student-athletes have made 2015-16 one of the most successful athletics years in school history, and they have done it while setting record-highs in academics. Most notably, OU student-athletes achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 or higher for an unprecedented ninth consecutive semester, posting a school-record-tying 3.06 combined GPA in the spring.

"This has not only been the greatest year in OU's history for athletic performance among all sports, it has been a record-setting year for student-athletes in academic achievement, as well," said University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren. "For nine straight semesters, OU student athletes have had above a 3.0 grade-point average, and this year 123 made perfect 4.0 averages in either the fall or spring semester, or both. Along with our students, great credit goes to what I believe is the greatest coaching staff in the entire country and Athletics Director Joe Castiglione for setting the right tone from the top."

Said Castiglione: "By any metric, it's been a phenomenal year for OU Athletics. We are extremely happy with the continued progress our student-athletes are making academically and applaud their record performances in that realm. Our ultimate goals for them are graduation and to flourish after their time at OU."

In addition to the ninth straight semester of a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA, here is a look at the recent academic accomplishments of OU student-athletes:

A school-record 16 of OU's 19 athletics teams, including every women's team, earned a 3.00 or higher cumulative spring GPA.

OU produced 299 Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll honorees for the spring semester (student-athletes who posted at least a 3.00 GPA for the term).

Sixty-three student-athletes achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs in the fall semester and 60 more did so in the spring.

Ten teams recorded perfect 1,000 single-year Academic Progress Rate scores for 2014-15 and all OU Athletics programs finished above the NCAA minimum for the sixth consecutive year.

Fifteen of OU's 19 teams achieved APRs equal to or above the national average, with four teams — women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's tennis and men's tennis — posting perfect multiyear APR scores.

OU's most recent graduation success rate of 84 percent is a school record and exceeds the NCAA national average.

Football player Ty Darlington became OU's first winner of the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, awarded to college football's absolute best scholar-athlete, and was named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American for the second year in a row.
Men's basketball player C.J. Cole was presented with the NCAA's Elite 90 Awardfor achieving the highest GPA (3.97 in chemical biosciences) among student-athletes participating at this year's Final Four. 

Castiglione also pointed out the exceptional level of leadership and engagement on and off campus by some individual student-athletes.

"It is appropriate to also recognize some of our student-athletes for their accomplishments outside of the classroom and off the playing surface. Football's Ty Darlington has been phenomenal in terms of his role with the NCAA in helping modernize the collegiate model and fighting for the improvement of student-athlete welfare. His teammate, Eric Striker, was named the first student winner of OU's Otis Sullivant Award for perceptivity for the manner in which he opened new dialogue on campus following a racially insensitive incident and how he has helped the entire university community during the healing process. And track and field's Jenny Carmichael was the first student-athlete ever named to OU's Homecoming Court. They're just a few of the many remarkable OU student-athletes who continue to impress by going above and beyond what is expected of them."