Butler student-athletes posted a department grade point average of 3.253 for the fall 2015 semester and followed that up with a GPA of 3.338 for the

spring 2016 semester. Additionally, all 17 of Butler’s athletic teams boast cumulative GPAs above 3.0. These were among many 2015-16 academic highlights for Butler’s student-athletes in the classroom that were announced Wednesday, June 15.

“The Butler Way has always made academic achievement a top area of focus, and once again, our student-athletes have posted a very successful academic year,” Butler Vice President/Director of Athletics Barry Collier said. “I’m very proud of the caliber of student that we recruit to Butler University and the effort these students display to produce this level of accomplishment. I want to thank not only our student-athletes, but their coaches, our support staff within Athletics, and the great professors who do so much to assist students with their academic endeavors.”

In the fall semester, 223 Butler student-athletes were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll with a GPA of 3.25 or better. Twenty-nine Bulldogs posted a perfect 4.0 GPA for the fall 2015 semester. Those numbers increased for the spring 2016 semester with 266 student-athletes earning a 3.25 GPA or better and 38 individuals registering a 4.0 GPA.

Butler University annual recognizes its Top 100 students. Included among those Top 100 students for the 2015-16 academic year were four student-athletes: Kailey Eaton (women’s tennis), Sean Horan (football), Nicole Johnson (women’s golf), and Belle Obert (women’s basketball). Additionally, Horan and Johnson were designated among the Top 10 Male and Top 10 Female Students, respectively.

Men’s soccer standout David Goldsmith was awarded third team Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA. Kellen Dunham, who graduated in May, was named the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Football student-athlete Matt Shiltz earned the distinction as the Pioneer Football League’s Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was one of nine Bulldogs to earn Academic All-PFL honors for their work in the classroom and play on the field. Numerous Butler teams earned accolades from their respective coaches associations for achieving a certain level of grade point average.

The women’s golf team posted the top team GPA for both the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters, with performances of 3.651 and 3.708, respectively. The women’s cross country team ranked second in the fall 2015 semester (3.591) and third in the spring 2016 semester (3.633). Butler’s men’s tennis team had a 3.541 GPA in the fall semester, the third-best mark among Bulldog teams, while the women’s track and field team posted a 3.653 GPA in the spring, the second-best mark for that semester.

Eight squads posted at least a 3.25 GPA as a team in the fall semester (men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s track and field, football, women’s golf, softball, women’s swimming, and men’s tennis), while 11 teams accomplished the feat in the spring semester (baseball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s track and field, women’s track and field, women’s golf, women’s soccer, softball, women’s swimming, and men’s tennis).

Erik Peterson of the cross country team and Sophia Maccagnone of the women’s soccer team were named institutional winners at Butler for the 2015-16 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships, which were announced by the conference in February. The award recognizes athletes for their academic and athletic achievements, and also their involvement in community service.

Additional BIG EAST academic honors for the 2015-16 academic year, including the BIG EAST All-Academic Team and the BIG EAST Team Academic Excellence Awards, will be announced later this summer.

**Butler offers 20 Division I sports. Women’s lacrosse has its inaugural season with the 2016-17 academic year and has yet to accumulate a GPA. Butler offers indoor and outdoor track and field for both men and women, but for the purposes of this report, those teams are designated as men’s track and field and women’s track and field, which makes a total of 17 rosters associated with GPAs for the 2015-16 academic year.

 

Media contact:
John Dedman
jdedman@butler.edu
317-940-9414