Kats earn USTFCCCA All-Academic honors
2/19/2016 11:49:00 AM | Cross Country, Cross Country
The Sam Houston State men's and women's cross country programs have been recognized by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as All-Academic Teams after another fall of strong success in the classroom.
Then men were just one of four Southland Conference programs honored after posting a 3.12 GPA. Meanwhile, the women secured a 3.25 GPA and were one of six league teams to earn recognition. The Bearkats were also just one of four conference schools to have both programs acknowledged.
“I think it shows the athletes take everything they do seriously,” head coach Jesse Parker said. “They realize there are more important things than running and being a good athlete. I also think it shows in our program the value we put in recruiting people that are good students and people that have goals in life. That is really where I think it all starts from.”
In total, 171 men's teams and 205 women's teams earned All-Academic Team status from the USTFCCCA. In order to receive the honor, teams must have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
The cross country programs played a key role in helping the Sam Houston athletic department product a record grade point average of 3.22 during the 2015 fall semester. The new GPA marks the sixth consecutive Sam Houston athletics semester GPA above 3.0 and the seventh in the past eight semesters.
“The academic support they get here with (assistant athletic director for student services) Dr. Jessica Payne and (associate athletic director for student services) Chris Thompson is critical,” Parker said. “It goes a long way to ensure that once they are here on campus, they continue to succeed.”
Led by the nationally-ranked women's bowling team with a 3.80 GPA, eight Sam Houston athletic squads produced grade point averages above 3.0. Other squad GPAs above 3.0 included tennis (3.64), volleyball (3.56), women's golf (3.45), softball (3.34), soccer (3.29) and baseball (3.08).
A total of 105 Sam Houston student-athletes were named to the Southland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2015 fall semester, the highest total among the league's 13 member institutions. The honor roll recognizes student-athletes who maintained a minimum 3.00 grade point average (GPA) during the semester in which their sport's championship competition occurred.
To best way for fans to enable Sam Houston student-athletes to continue to succeed both in bringing sports accolades and championships to the university and being leaders in the class room is to give financial support to the department as a member of Bearkat Champions.
Learn more about the sole fundraising arm for Sam Houston athletics and contribute by visiting the Bearkat Champions information page.
