VILLANOVA, Pa.—The academic excellence of Villanova student-athletes continued in the Spring 2024 semester as more than 550 student-athletes from 24 varsity sports compiled a 3.489 grade point average in data released by Villanova Athletics this week. It marks the 13th straight semester in which the GPA for Wildcats student-athletes has topped 3.3. The department streak of grading periods with a GPA above a 3.0 is even more impressive and now spans 42 consecutive semesters spanning the last 21 academic years.
The elite level of academic achievement for Villanova Athletics has truly been across-the-board in recent years. Each of the department's 24 varsity sports had a team GPA over a 3.0 for the fifth straight semester, while nine teams boasted a GPA of 3.5 or higher. The highest team GPA for the Spring 2024 grading period came from water polo with a 3.706 mark, while the top five teams also included women's soccer (3.697), field hockey (3.694), men's swimming & diving (3.679), and women's swimming & diving (3.678).
On an individual level, 88 percent of student-athletes (490) had a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher and 78 percent (436) were named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for having a GPA above a 3.2 for the semester. There were also 327 student-athletes (59%) who made their respective schools' Dean's List with a 3.5 or better GPA and 50 student-athletes representing 17 sports who had a perfect 4.0 GPA in the Spring. Six different sports had four or more student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA.
The combination of academic achievement and athletic success is one of the benchmarks that puts Villanova in the upper echelon of collegiate athletics programs. There was no better example of that during the past semester as the Wildcats softball team won its third BIG EAST title in the last four years and made its deepest run in NCAA regional play while also leading Villanova Athletics with seven student-athletes who posted a 4.0 GPA for the semester. In addition, the water polo team combined having the highest semester GPA with a .656 winning percentage and tallying the second-most wins in a season (21) in program history.
Department honors were announced for the field hockey and men's soccer teams. The field hockey team is the winner of the Nnenna Lynch Award for having the highest academic year team GPA in the department (3.706). It is the first time that head coach Joanie Milhous and her squad have won this honor and it comes on the heels of the team winning nine games and reaching the BIG EAST Championship last season. The men's soccer team wins the Dr. Dan Regan Award for having the most improved team GPA for the academic year, its third time winning the award and first since 2007-08.
More than half of the senior Class of 2024 (56%) graduated with honors this Spring for having a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. That figure represents 43 student-athletes who graduated cum laude (3.5+), 14 student-athletes who were magna cum laude (3.75+) and three student-athletes who graduated summa cum laude with a GPA of 3.9 or higher.
While continuing to set and surpass its own lofty benchmarks for academic achievement, Villanova has continued to excel in athletic competition on a national level. This year's graduating class combined to win 15 conference team championships and produce 44 individual conference champions over the last four years, not to mention earning 122 all-conference honors and setting 12 school records. Twenty different teams competed in their conference tournaments at least once during the past four years, while 12 teams combined to make 32 national postseason appearances.
Last week in a release of NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) data, Villanova had an overall APR score of 997 while 13 varsity sport programs earned a perfect 1000 muti-year APR score. It is the seventh straight year in which data has been collected that the Wildcats have had 10 or more teams earn a perfect score.
