University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU's Academic Success Continues
June 18, 2015 | Athletics
| Sooners with 4.00 GPAs Spring 2015 Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll |
|---|
|
Baseball: Austin O'Brien, So. |
NORMAN – The academic successes continue for the Sooners as multiple University of Oklahoma student-athletes have received recognition for their work in the classroom this past school year. Most recently, more than 300 Sooners were named to the Spring 2015 Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
Other academic highlights for the Sooners include both individual and team achievements. In total across all sports, OU placed 209 Sooners on Academic All-Big 12 squads this year, the most ever for the institution. Additionally, OU student-athletes registered an 80 percent graduation rate.
In May, the NCAA released its Academic Progress Rate results for member institutions, and OU once again ranked among the top schools in the nation in terms of academic performance. Fifteen of OU's 21 athletics programs boasted a multi-year (four-year average) APR score above the NCAA Division I national average.
All sport programs at OU earned a multi-year APR score at least 28 points above the minimum 930 after the 2013-14 academic year. The latest report marks the fifth consecutive year that all OU Athletics programs have finished above the NCAA minimum APR threshold. During the 2013-14 academic year, 11 different OU programs recorded a perfect 1,000 annual APR score, tied with Texas for the most in the Big 12 among the 21 sports that OU sponsors.
Following is a rundown of how OU performed in the two latest sets of Big 12 Conference academic honors:
Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll
To be named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll, student-athletes must register a 3.00 GPA or better for the given academic term. For the spring 2015 semester, 306 Sooners across OU's 21 varsity sports accomplished the feat. Additionally, 40 of them made the list with a 4.00 GPA for the term.
A complete list of OU student-athletes on the honor roll can be found here.
Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team
Oklahoma led the conference with 60 student-athletes earning spots on the 2014-15 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team, which honors conference competitors who are new, incoming freshmen at their respective league institutions.
Nine Sooners made the list with 4.00 GPAs for their freshman year, including Josh McDermett (wrestling; physics), Sophia Fernald (cross country; English), Hayley Redwine (cross country; accounting), Belle Wallace (cross country/track & field; pre-dental hygiene), Brenna Dowell (women's gymnastics; undecided), Miranda Schene (rowing; biochemistry), Paige Parker (softball; undecided), Leah Wodach (softball; undecided) and Lily Miyazaki (women's tennis; biology).
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services, student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team must be new, first-time/incoming freshman that have completed 24 semester hours of non-remedial coursework and achieved a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00. Additionally, the student-athletes must have participated in at least one of their team's scheduled contests and must have been a member of their respective teams for their sport's entire NCAA Championship segment. The list of conference honorees is available here.
