University of Houston Athletics
Cougar Basketball Excels in Classroom
1/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON - The focus on preparing leaders for life while challenging student-athletes to achieve their highest academic, athletic and personal aspirations by the Houston Department of Intercollegiate Athletics paid off once again as nearly 400 student-athletes from 17 sports programs combined to record the second-highest cumulative grade point average after a fall semester, 2.89, in UH Athletics history.
Led by Head Coach Ronald Hughey, the Houston women's basketball program posted their best academic performance in many years in the fall semester. The Cougars passed their highest number of hours in four years and posted their best team GPA in three years. Individually, junior guard Alecia Smith was named to the Dean's List.
"When we talk about Chasing Greatness, it begins in the classroom, because our players are students first and athletes second," said Hughey. "Getting your degree is the most important thing, and I am proud of our team, especially Alecia, for taking pride in their academic work this semester."
The cumulative athletic department GPA was bolstered by the second-best fall semester GPA, 2.84, in Houston history. Eighty student-athletes were named to the University of Houston Dean's List.
"The focus of our department is to be competitive not only in the field of play, but in the classroom as well. Our student-athletes support our mission and their academic accomplishments reflect that," said Houston Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades. "The drive demonstrated by our student-athletes while pursuing academic achievement is matched only by their competitive athletic nature. I would like to thank our Department of Student-Athlete Development, led by Maria Peden, for their passion in enriching the lives of our student-athletes. We are also very appreciative of our Cougar Pride members whose contributions to our student-athlete scholarship fund provide support for our student-athletes both in the classroom and in the field of play."
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The Houston Softball program, under the leadership of head coach Kyla Holas, led all sports with a fall semester GPA of 3.55, a cumulative GPA of 3.47 and 55 percent of the team on the Dean's List. The Houston Tennis program finished second among all sports with a 3.39 fall semester GPA and 3.35 cumulative GPA while leading all sports with an average of 15.43 hours passed per student.
Eight sport programs posted fall GPAs over 3.0 while eight finished the semester with cumulative GPAs over 3.0. The Houston Baseball program posted its best-ever fall semester GPA, 3.31, while recording a record cumulative GPA of 3.23, both tops among the men's sport programs at Houston.
The Houston Men's Basketball program recorded its second-highest ever fall GPA. Both Men's and Women's Golf programs carried a team GPA over 3.0 for the fourth and second years, respectively.
Houston Soccer scored its highest fall and cumulative GPAs in the last eight years and its second-highest cumulative GPA ever while passing a record 14.8 hours per term. Houston Swimming & Diving completed its sixth consecutive term with a cumulative GPA over 3.0 while Women's Track & Field posted its second-best cumulative GPA after a fall semester. Thirty-one percent of the Houston Volleyball team was named to the Dean's List while exceeding a 3.0 cumulative GPA and passing over 13 semester hours while in season.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive daily information and in-game updates by following @UHCougarWBB on Twitter. Fans can also catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at facebook.com/UHCougarWBB
BUY SEASON TICKETS
Fans can purchase season tickets for the 2014-15 women's basketball season by clicking here and visiting the official Athletics Ticket Office Page at UHCougars.com. Season tickets start at just $99.
To purchase tickets in person, fans can visit the Athletics Ticket Stadium Office located on the northeast corner of TDECU Stadium, just outside of Gate 1 off Cullen Boulevard. Parking is available in the TDECU Stadium parking garage with the first 30 minutes free of charge. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m.
Under Hughey's leadership, the Cougars will play 11 contests against teams who qualified for NCAA postseason play a year ago with eight of those against American Athletic Conference rivals.
All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular season women's basketball home games with a valid student ID.
--UHCougars.com--
