VILLANOVA, Pa.—For the 14th straight semester Villanova student-athletes compiled a grade-point average above a 3.2 as the Wildcats continue to shine among the brightest in the nation for their combination of academic and athletic success. The overall GPA for the student-athletes from Villanova's 24 varsity sports was 3.395 for the Fall 2021 semester. It is the 37th straight semester with a mark above a 3.0.
Academic success in Fall 2021 continued to be across-the-board for the Wildcats, who had 23 sports post a team GPA above a 3.0 for the semester. The golf team had the highest GPA in the Fall with a mark of 3.650, followed by field hockey and women's cross country who tied for the highest GPA among women's programs with a 3.616 mark. The teams rounding out the top five GPAs were women's track & field (3.608) and men's swimming & diving (3.596).
From an individual standpoint, there were 42 student-athletes who posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in Fall 2021. The group represented 20 different teams, led by the rowing program who had seven student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA. There were four student-athletes from women's lacrosse and women's track & field with a 4.0 for the semester, as well as three each from golf and men's swimming & diving. In all, more than 82 percent of student-athletes had a GPA of 3.0 or higher while more than 53 percent earned Dean's List mention for having semester marks above a 3.5.
Now in its 11th semester, the Athletic Director's Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes who post a GPA of 3.2 or higher in a marking period. There were more than 400 honorees representing 70 percent of all student-athletes who achieved this distinction for the Fall semester.
The combination of elite performance in the classroom and in the arenas of athletic competition make Villanova stand out among the top universities nationwide. The women's cross country team which tied for the highest women's team GPA during the Fall also qualified for the NCAA Championships, as did the men's cross country squad. The football team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs and the men's soccer team reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The release of academic data from the Fall 2021 semester is the latest recognition for Villanova student-athletes for success in their academic pursuits. The most recent NCAA data to be released was the Graduation Success Rate update in December 2021 in which Villanova Athletics reported its highest-ever mark of 98 percent. Each of the Wildcats sports programs exceeded the overall national average of 92 percent, while Villanova also had 12 teams with a perfect 100 percent NCAA GSR rate.
