VILLANOVA, Pa.—The elite academic achievement of Villanova student-athletes continued to set remarkable new benchmarks during the Fall 2022 semester. One of the proudest days of the year for Villanova Athletics occurred on Wednesday afternoon as the department released its latest set of academic data for its 24 varsity sports programs. Even for a varsity athletics program that is renowned for its combination of academic and athletic prowess, Wildcats student-athletes are continuing to raise the bar for their continued success across-the-board.
Commitment to academic excellence is truly a team-wide pursuit. During the Fall 2022 semester all 24 varsity sports programs compiled a team GPA above a 3.1. The overall grade-point average for more than 550 student-athletes during the Fall semester was a lofty 3.410, marking the 39
th straight grading period spanning nearly two full decades that Villanova Athletics has had a department GPA above a 3.0. It is also the 16
th consecutive semester that the student-athlete GPA has been higher than a 3.2.
For the third straight grading period, the
golf team had the highest GPA at 3.752 and the
women's cross country team boasted the highest women's GPA at 3.736. Four other sports had a team GPA above a 3.6 in Fall 2022, including
women's swimming & diving (3.722),
field hockey (3.645),
rowing (3.634) and
women's track & field (3.608). In all there were nine sports programs who had a GPA higher than 3.5.
From an individual standpoint, there were 41 student-athletes representing 18 different teams who posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in the Fall semester. The
women's track & field team led all sports with five student-athletes who had a 4.0 GPA, followed by
baseball,
football and
men's track & field who each had four 4.0 student-athletes. More than two-thirds of the varsity sports programs (17 of 24) had multiple 4.0 student-athletes on their active rosters during the Fall semester. On a wider scale, 84 percent of all student-athletes posted a GPA above a 3.0 for the semester and 50 percent were named to the Dean's List in their respective schools for having a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher.
One of the accolades a student-athlete can earn at Villanova is to be named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll each semester. This award is bestowed on student-athletes who have a semester GPA of at least 3.2; in Fall 2022 this honor included 412 individuals and represented more than 74 percent of all Villanova student-athletes. It is the sixth straight semester that the Athletic Director's Honor Roll has consisted of more than 400 student-athletes.
The strongest indication of the elite ranking that Villanova student-athletes hold nationwide is the combination of the Wildcats success in the classroom and in the arenas of athletic competition. Villanova Athletics is coming off a year in which it had the highest standing among all BIG EAST schools with a #54 ranking in the Learfield Directors Cup which measures across-the-board athletics success. In addition, the Wildcats led the BIG EAST with the most number of student-athletes named to the conference All-Academic Team. The Fall 2022 semester saw continued success in in competition for Villanova as the men's cross country team won a BIG EAST title and went on to post its highest finish at the NCAA Championships in eight years.
The release of academic data from Fall 2022 is the latest recognition for Villanova student-athletes for success in their academic pursuits. Last November the NCAA released its most recent
Graduation Success Rate data in which Villanova Athletics reported its highest-ever mark of 99 percent. Villanova was one of only five schools nationally to have an overall score of 99 percent or higher and 13 Wildcats teams posted a perfect 100 percent score for the most recent cohort.
