NEW YORK—The academic achievement of Villanova student-athletes was recognized by the BIG EAST Conference last week as the Wildcats had a league-best 349 selections to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team for the 2021-22 academic year. This is the sixth time in the last seven years that Villanova has had the most honorees on the All-Academic Team among conference membership and it is the seventh consecutive year that the Wildcats have had over 300 student-athletes named to the team. Villanova competes in the BIG EAST in 21 of its 24 varsity sports.
Nominations for the All-Academic Team were submitted by each of the BIG EAST's 11 member schools and five affiliate institutions. To be eligible for the honor, a nominee must have completed in a BIG EAST-sponsored sport, attained a minimum grade-point average of 3.00 for the preceding academic year, and completed a minimum of two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters of academic work, with a total of 17 semester or 27 quarter credits, not including remedial courses. There were a total of 2,889 honorees conference-wide for the 2021-22 academic year.
Last week's release was the latest in a series of conference academic honors which are being revealed this summer. Villanova previously had the men's basketball and field hockey teams recognized with BIG EAST Team Academic Excellence Awards. Still to come are the individual Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award winners, the overall men's and women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the winners of the Mike Tranghese Postgrad Leadership Award.
Elite academic achievement continued across-the-board for Wildcats student-athletes in 2021-22, with the release of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team just the latest example. The GPA for more than 550 student-athletes in Spring 2022 was 3.425, making this 38 straight semesters with a mark above a 3.0 and 15 consecutive terms that the student-athlete GPA was 3.2 or higher. Each of Villanova's 24 varsity sports posted a team GPA over a 3.0 for the Spring semester, while 404 student-athletes were named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for having a semester GPA of at least 3.2.
Villanova student-athletes continue to rank among the nation's elite for their combination of success in the classroom and in the arenas of athletic competition. The golf team had the top GPA among the Wildcats varsity sport programs in 2021-22 and also posted its lowest team stroke average since the 2006 season while carding the best 54-hole team score in program history (279) at the OBX/ODU Intercollegiate during the Fall season. The women's cross country team which held the highest women's GPA for the 2021-22 academic year qualified for the NCAA Championships in the Fall.
During the 2021-22 academic year the Wildcats had 17 teams compete in their conference tournaments. There were 12 sports who either earned a team berth or sent individual athletes to their respective national championships. The men's soccer team won the first NCAA Tournament game in program history during the Fall while softball captured its second straight BIG EAST title and reached an NCAA regional for the second year in a row. The men's basketball and women's swimming & diving programs were each BIG EAST champions.
The release of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team is the latest recognition for Villanova student-athletes for success in their academic pursuits. Last month the NCAA released its latest Academic Progress Rate data and Villanova had 11 of its varsity programs earn a perfect multi-year score of 1000. It marked the fifth straight year in which data has been collected that the Wildcats have had 10 or more teams earn a 1000 score. In December 2021, the NCAA released its most recent Graduation Success Rate data in which Villanova Athletics reported its highest-ever mark of 98 percent. Each of the Wildcats varsity programs exceeded the national average of 92 percent, while Villanova had 12 teams with a perfect 100 percent NCAA GSR rate.
