Western Illinois University Quad Cities recently issued the following announcement.
Final grades are in and Western Illinois University Athletics officially crowned its Fall 2018 semester with the highest term grade point average in department history. En route to a 3.199 mark, 44 Leatherneck student-athletes completed the semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA, and a total of 129 earned honors with a 3.6 or above.
"Our student-athletes, support staff and coaches worked very hard this past fall to achieve the highest term GPA to date. This achievement reflects our dedication to our core value of academic excellence," said Holly Van Vlymen, Western's assistant athletic director for academics and student-athlete development. "Our coaches have built a strong culture of academic excellence within their programs, and our student-athletes put a lot of time and energy into representing this great University to the best of their abilities, both in the classroom and in their athletic arenas. Congratulations to our student-athletes for a job well done!"
With a 3.729, women's golf boasted the highest team average within the department, while soccer (3.375) pulled in the best mark on the men's side.
A year ago, during the 2017-18 season, WIU student-athletes posted a 3.122 GPA in the fall and a 3.17 in the spring, the second-highest departmental GPA at the time.
Fall 18 Academic Report Card
44 Student-Athletes - 4.0
244 Student-Athletes - 3.0 or above
129 Student-Athletes - Honors (3.6 or above)
Semester Team Average (Top 3 / Men & Women)
W. Golf | 3.729
W. Basketball | 3.724
W. Tennis | 3.644
M. Soccer | 3.375
M. Basketball | 3.206
M. Golf | 3.119
Original source can be found here.