By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
For William & Mary student-athletes, the bar is always set high for classroom success. Which, sometimes, can result in news of academic excellence being taken for granted.
But there can be no ho-humming this week's release from Richmond regarding the Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. With a 3.0 grade-point average the benchmark, 341 Tribe athletes were honored for their academic performance during the spring semester.
That calculates to 72% of William & Mary's student-athletes — or, to put it another way, nearly three out of four. Overall, the department's cumulative grade-point average for the semester was 3.38.
"I remain inspired by the dedication our student-athletes have in all their pursuits," W&M director of athletics Brian D. Mann said. "Seeing this comprehensive academic success across all our programs is a testament to the hard work our coaches and staff put in to ensure we position our programs for excellence in all phases of the development of a complete individual.
"This good work ensures we live up to the commitment made to our student-athletes when they arrive on campus: that they will receive a world-class education, participate in the highest level of collegiate athletics, and will leave our campus degree in hand with the tools necessary to lead a life of impact."
Here are more some numbers to digest:
• Men's cross country (3.43 GPA) and men's track and field (3.33) received the CAA's Team Academic Excellence Award, which recognizes the highest collective GPA among all 22 sports sponsored by the conference for the 2021-22 season.
• W&M had 200 student-athletes receive the Provost Award, which recognizes those who have maintained at least a 3.5 GPA.
• Twenty-one teams posted a grade-point average of at least 3.0. Nine had a 3.5 or better. Women's gymnastics led the way at 3.74.
• Twenty-six student-athletes had a 4.0 GPA in the spring.
Taylor Rengers, who was hired in January 2021 as academic coordinator and promoted to director of academic services this past April, credits the student-athletes with stepping up after spending most of the 2020-21 school year online.
"We had seen a dip in grades during the fall semester, and I think colleges across the country did as they came back from the pandemic," she said. "Having to re-acclimate was a huge adjustment. The students came out in the spring and knew what they had to do.
"I was really impressed by them. These students are high achieving and they put pressure on themselves. And I set high standards for them the same way their coaches set high standards for them. They know William & Mary's standards for excellence."
Among the teams scoring high was football, which on the field is coming off its first winning season since 2015. Forty-seven players were recognized on the Commissioner's Honor Roll. The team's overall spring GPA was 3.07, which Rengers said was its highest since at least 2008.
"To have that many guys on the honor roll at a challenging, competitive academic school, I'm very proud," Tribe coach Mike London said.
"The William & Mary name is synonymous with excellence in education. When you get a degree from William & Mary, that speaks volumes of your ability to handle whatever job or opportunity is out there for you."
