Tartans Impress Once Again in Classroom During Fall Semester

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) –  The fall athletics season was highlighted by four team NCAA appearances, three University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships, and a football bowl victory, but the Tartans also continued their dominance in the classroom. Academically, 137 student-athletes recorded a perfect 4.0 grade-point average (GPA) with nearly 65 percent earning a 3.50 GPA or better.

“Carnegie Mellon student-athletes are doing incredible things academically, athletically and in the community,” said Director of Athletics Josh Centor. “Athletically, we continue to excel at the national level, and we are doing that as we await completion of the new Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics. Academically, our student-athletes demonstrate that you can be outstanding in multiple domains, and you can inspire a community with your commitment to excellence. I am certain this is what intercollegiate athletics ought to look like, and it is my privilege to cheer our Tartans on each and every day.”

Thirty football players earned a 4.0 and the team amassed a GPA of 3.48 while closing the season with a 10-1 record. The Tartans earned a convincing 37-7 victory in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Asa S. Bushnell Bowl and boast a 21-2 record over the past two seasons. Despite missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years, the Tartans ended the year with a national ranking of 25 in the D3football.com final season poll.

Nine members of the men’s cross country team were perfect in the classroom and helped the team to a 3.51 GPA for the semester, as the Tartans finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, tying the program’s highest finish. CMU last placed sixth in 1981.

Joining the men’s cross country team on the national stage once again were the women’s cross country team, the volleyball team, and the women’s soccer team. Women’s Cross Country placed 30th at the meet and finished the semester with a team GPA of 3.36 with five athletes earning a 4.0. The volleyball team had an overall 3.59 GPA and the women’s soccer team carried a 3.56 GPA, with five and seven players reaching perfect marks, respectively.

The women’s golf team, which is coming off its second straight fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, dominated play on the courses all fall by winning three major tournaments, finishing second in another, and earning the program’s first UAA Championship. The team led all CMU programs with a 3.76 GPA and six of its 10 team members had 4.0s.

The men’s tennis team compiled a 3.74 GPA to lead all men’s programs for the second straight fall while maneuvering through a fall tournament series with two freshmen lighting up the national circuit with All-America finishes at the fall ITA Cup.

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both carried a 3.65 GPA by the semester’s end and finished second-best among the men’s and women’s programs.

On top of the semester success, 19 upperclassmen maintained cumulative GPAs of 4.0 while nine graduate students kicked off their post-graduate careers with perfect marks. The success was widespread among the colleges, as 57 students with 4.0s were enrolled in the College of Engineering, 32 in the Tepper School of Business, 23 in Dietrich College, 17 in the School of Computer Science, and eight in the Mellon College of Science.