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DAVIS, Calif. – Facing an unprecedented, unusual and challenging situation, UC Davis student-athletes responded by earning a 3.50 spring GPA, the highest average in the last 12 quarters. This is the second time in as many terms that a department-high figure was recorded; Athletics' previous high of 3.23 was posted once Winter 2020 grades were finalized.
 
Eighteen percent of student-athletes (95) finished the spring with a perfect 4.0, 57 percent (305) earned a 3.5 GPA or better, and 83 percent (445) received a 3.0 or higher.
 
Twenty-four teams ended the spring term with an average of 3.0 or above, which led to the best academic-year figure within the last four seasons. UC Davis' men's programs finished 2019-20 with a combined 3.11 GPA, the women earned a 3.36 average.
 
Leading the way for the Aggies last quarter were women's golf and its 3.82 team GPA, women's tennis (3.78) and women's gymnastics (3.75). Tennis led all men's programs with its 3.69 average.
 
The department's 2020 spring average and 2019-20 academic year figures are the latest examples of how student-athletes thrive at one of the most academically rigorous institutions in the nation, even under unique circumstances.
 
Earlier this year, field hockey alum Beth Lee entered the final weeks of her J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship experience teaching English in South Korea when the U.S. Department of State, and the Fulbright Board, selected men's soccer alum Wallis Lapsley as a 2020 award recipient.
 
In late May, seniors Marissa Jauregui (softball), Julia Lemak (women's cross country/track & field) and junior Madison Wood (women's golf) joined UC Davis chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society — the nation's oldest and most prestigious honors organization.
 
In addition to a record total of 217 student-athletes who earned academic all-conference honors, Big West Conference officials bestowed Commissioner's Honor Roll distinction to 163 Aggies this past year.
 
When the NCAA released its latest Academic Progress Rate report in May, women's cross country, women's golf and women's tennis earned Public Recognition Awards since their perfect APR scores were among the top 10 percent of respective sports. 
 
This is the 12th time in program history that women's tennis posted a perfect multi-year score — the highest total of any men's or women's Big West Conference-sponsored sport.

Of the Big West's 18 sports, no member institution held more No. 1 APR scores than UC Davis and its seven. Leading the way for the Aggies were baseball, men's soccer, men's track & field, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's golf and women's water polo.

The NCAA's 2020 report also featured eight programs that were responsible for their respective conference's second-highest figure: men's basketball, men's golf, men's tennis and women's soccer (Big West), field hockey (America East), football (Big Sky), women's lacrosse and women's swimming & diving (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation).
 
The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each recruited student-athlete. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention rate and graduation to provide a measure of each team's academic performance.
 
For the 11th time in the last 12 years, UC Davis posted the highest overall Graduation Success Rate in the Big West Conference, and the top figure among all Big Sky football programs for the sixth-consecutive year (85 pct.), when the NCAA released its GSR report.
 
As has been the case since they officially joined the Big West in July, 2007, the Aggies also recorded the highest Federal Graduation Rate (82 pct.) among all conference institutions.
 
The GSR rate differs from the federal graduation rate as transfers who depart in good academic standing do not count against their previous institution, but are included in the receiving institution's GSR. This allows the GSR to accurately look at student-athlete success by taking into account the full variety of NCAA Division I participants and track their individual outcomes.
 
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS
With the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, more than 700 student-athletes represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation on one of 25 intercollegiate athletics teams.
 
UC Davis, a national leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, is centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley; and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
 
Ranked annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.