VILLANOVA, Pa.—The 2024-25 academic year is officially in the books and the numbers look as good as ever for the academic achievement of Villanova student-athletes. The department grade point average for Villanova Athletics was 3.495 for the Spring 2025 semester, inching higher from Fall 2024 and reaching a milestone of 15 consecutive semesters that the student-athlete GPA has been higher than a 3.3. The overall GPA for Wildcats student-athletes has been higher than a 3.0 for 44 consecutive semesters spanning the last 22 academic years.
Perhaps the most impressive indicator of success in the classroom for Villanova Athletics is that academic achievement has truly been across the board for the department's nearly 600 student-athletes representing 24 varsity sports. During the Spring semester, 87 percent of all student-athletes compiled a GPA of 3.0 or higher. That figure includes 73 student-athletes from 18 sports who had a perfect 4.0 GPA for the Spring semester, led by the rowing and women's soccer teams who each had nine student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA.
Individual accolades for Spring 2025 also include 61 percent of student-athletes being named to their respective schools' Dean's List for having a semester GPA of 3.5 or better, while the Athletic Director's Honor Roll which recognizes a semester GPA of 3.2 or higher featured 78 percent of student-athletes on the Spring 2025 list.
The Spring academic data is equally notable from a team standpoint, as 12 varsity sports posted a team GPA of 3.5 or higher. The highest GPA in Spring 2025 belonged to field hockey which set a program record with a mark of 3.788. They were followed by three other sports who topped 3.7, including water polo (3.729); women's swimming & diving (3.711); and volleyball (3.710). The two highest men's GPAs came from men's swimming & diving (3.649) and golf (3.607).
The field hockey team is the winner of the Nnenna Lynch Award which is presented to the varsity sport with the highest team GPA for the full academic year. This is the second straight year that field hockey has earned the award and it comes after the team posted a 3.763 GPA in 2024-25. The men's tennis team is the winner of the Dr. Dan Regan Award which is presented to the team with the most improved GPA from the previous academic year.
Villanova sent off its graduating class of student-athletes in style with a reception in Finneran Pavilion to kick off Senior Week last month. The Class of 2025 was a particularly distinguished one academically with 29 student-athletes graduating cum laude (3.5-3.74 cumulative GPA), 18 student-athletes earning magna cum laude (3.75-3.89) status and four graduating student-athletes attaining top honors of summa cum laude (3.90-4.0).
There has been other recent academic data released which shined a spotlight on the Wildcats academic achievement. The local PhillySIDA Academic All-Area teams recognize student-athletes who are among the top contributors on their team while also maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher. Villanova had 24 student-athletes named to Academic All-Area teams in 2024-25, including five who were named their sport's Academic All-Area Performer of the Year. Both the 24 honorees and the five Performers of the Year match the most ever for the Wildcats in a single academic year.
Last month Villanova Athletics had 14 of its varsity programs earn public recognition for having a multiyear NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) score which ranks in the top 10 percent of their sport nationwide. There were just 10 Division I schools nationwide – and seven outside the Ivy League – who had 14 or more teams earn public recognition awards. Villanova has had 10 or more teams earn a perfect APR score of 1000 in each of the last eight years.
The tradition of excellence for Villanova Athletics has long been defined as the combination of elite performance both academically and in athletic competitions. That continues to be true, as during the Spring 2025 semester the men's and women's track & field teams each had student-athletes in competition at the NCAA Championships both indoors and outdoors. The women's basketball team reached national postseason play for the 21st time in 24 years and advanced to the semifinal round of the WBIT, while the women's lacrosse and women's tennis teams reached the final of their respective conference tournaments for the first time in program history.
