Memphis Football Achieves Another Academic Milestone
Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and....Memphis?
In the NCAA National GSR (Graduation Success Rate) among the 2020-2021 bowl teams, Memphis ranked fourth at 90% behind Northwestern's 97% and Notre Dame and Wisconsin's 91%.
“I am proud of the effort and attention our student-athletes, coaches and administrators have shown over the years toward educating and graduating all of our student-athletes,” said director of athletics Laird Veatch. “I can’t thank our CAAS staff and counselors enough for the tremendous job they have done implementing programming and day-to-day operational procedures that help our students succeed and graduate.”
Nationally the GSR declined from 79.1% last season to 78% this year. Memphis saw an increase from 82% to 90%.
Memphis was bolstered by a significant increase among black student-athletes. The GSR for those athletes rose from 78% to 88% while those numbers declined nationally.
Other academic achievements from the Tigers:
- 45 Memphis football student-athletes placed on the academic honor roll (3.0 GPA)
- 20 were named to the Dean's List with a 3.5 GPA
- 1 had a perfect GPA of 4.0
Strong academics is vital for the University for a multitude of reasons. These sorts of honors help with recruiting in the short to medium term. In addition, when the time comes for conference realignment, having a greatly improved academic profile makes Memphis more attractive to potential conference mates.
Coach Silverfield also understands the importance:
“I am extremely proud of our student-athletes for their hard work and determination in the classroom and on the field,” said head coach Ryan Silverfield. “When you come to Memphis, you are going to graduate, go to bowl games and win championships. I appreciate the support system that we have in place at the University of Memphis and Memphis Athletics that allows our student-athletes to reach their goals with a foundation for life after football.”