Flames record highest semester GPA in school history

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, UIC’s student-athletes rallied to post their best academic semester in school history.

The Flames’ 300 student-athletes combined to achieve a 3.55 GPA this spring, the highest combined GPA in school history. The spring semester marks the 12th-consecutive semester in which UIC has posted a department GPA of 3.0 or higher.

“The academic performance of our student-athletes this spring is nothing short of remarkable,” said Director of Athletics Michael Lipitz. “They not only persevered through the very real challenges presented this semester, but thrived and delivered record-setting results. We could not be more proud of our student-athletes or more appreciative of the faculty and staff who support them.”

UIC is proud to recognize its 44 spring graduates, including four student-athletes who completed their career with perfect 4.0 GPAs. Alex Bashqawi (track & field/cross country), Shivani Majmudar (golf), Emily Valentine (women’s soccer) and Alyssa Griman (softball) each graduated in May with an unblemished 4.0 career GPA.

One hundred student-athletes, 33% of the athletic department, earned Dean’s List honors this past spring. To qualify for the Dean’s List, individuals must have achieved a 3.5 while in a full-time course load. At least three student-athletes from each of UIC’s 18 varsity teams is represented on the Dean’s List, led by men’s track and field with 18 student-athletes. The women’s track and field team had the most honorees among women’s programs with 11.

“We are so proud to see our UIC student-athletes rise to the occasion, overcome adversity and perform remarkably in the classroom during these unprecedented times,” said Lisa Hehman, associate athletic director for academic services. “The commitment and dedication among our student-athletes is a testament to a champion mindset. The uncertainty of Spring 2020 did not extinguish our Flames as our student-athletes posted an unprecedented GPA.”

The men’s tennis team led all men’s sports with a perfect 4.0 team GPA this spring. Top honors among women’s sports were shared by women’s soccer and women’s tennis which recorded matching 3.96 team GPAs for the term.

The Horizon League Honor Roll will be announced by the conference at a later date and Flames student-athletes are expected to be well represented once again.