FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The past year of adversity and new challenges in society and competition has done little to slow down the Sharks in the classroom. In fact, Nova Southeastern University’s student-athletes have taken those challenges in the complete opposite direction, again setting semester program bests to round out the fourth consecutive year with an annual departmental Grade Point Average record. For the 2021 Winter semester, NSU’s Sharks earned a 3.44 department-wide GPA for the best semester on record, combining with the 3.41 GPA from the Fall to deliver a new program-record 3.42 GPA for the 2020-21 academic year.
Driving the best semester to date for the NSU program, an impressive 80 percent of all student-athletes individually exceeded a 3.00 GPA for the Winter semester, led by 199 Sharks who were above a 3.25 to be named Scholar Student-Athletes. Of that group of academic standouts, 84 were named to the Director’s List with a GPA over 3.80 and 32 produced a perfect 4.0 on the semester. In addition, 91 student-athletes earned their NSU degree this academic year.
“I could not be more proud of our Shark student-athletes for their collective performance in the classroom this academic year,” Senior Woman Administrator and Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Services and Student-Athlete Support Rachel Fineberg said. “We continue to reach new highs with our departmental GPA and we continue to have many of our teams achieve program-best marks. To do that this year, despite the challenges and uncertainties faced due to COVID-19, is a testament to our academic staff, our athletics administration, our coaches and most importantly our student-athletes. Their grit and determination to persevere reflects the quality of character that our Shark student-athletes demonstrate every day and we are all blessed to have them as part of our NSU family.”
Leading the pack with an astounding program-record 3.84 team GPA, women’s golf topped all programs for the semester, all while being in season. Only allowing their five-semester streak to be surpassed a single semester, men’s soccer returns to the top men’s GPA slot with a program-record 3.64 Winter mark. Coming through with program-record semester GPA’s, women’s tennis collected a 3.71 while reaching the NCAA South Regional and volleyball produced a 3.68. Women’s track and field (record 3.68), women’s soccer (3.63), women’s swimming (3.50), softball (record 3.47) and women’s basketball (3.41) followed on the women’s side. For the men, men’s golf earned a program-best Winter 3.40, men’s track and cross country had a 3.28 and baseball delivered their best historic GPA at 3.25 despite battling substantial challenges in their competition season.
Eight programs not only produced their top Winter GPA, but also set program records for their annual team GPA; baseball, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s soccer, softball, women’s tennis, women’s track and volleyball.
Another record-breaking Winter semester brings the count to 10 consecutive semesters that NSU student-athletes have collectively exceeded a 3.20, and a fifth consecutive academic year to achieve that standard. NSU has made it nine consecutive years over a 3.15 GPA as a department and adds their 22nd consecutive semester exceeding a departmental 3.00, bringing their annual streak to 19 years over a 3.00, dating back to 2002-03 – the first year of NCAA competition.
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