TicketsFeb. 1, 2007
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- University of Cincinnati sports teams are moving the needle towards the goals established in CATAPULT, the action plan for UC athletics instituted by Director of Athletics Mike Thomas.
CATAPULT--an acronym for championships, academics, and together--sets the goal that in the next five years UC will win a BIG EAST championship in every sport; UC's student-athletes will lead the general student body in graduation rate and grade point average; and UC's student-athletes and coaches will engage the Cincinnati community in service.
During the recently completed Fall Quarter, UC's sports teams made major improvements in academics, achieving an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.938. Additionally, 11 of the 17 squads posted team GPAs higher than the general UC student body GPA of 2.965.
The Bearcat men's basketball team made the greatest improvement in the classroom, as its 2.875 team GPA a half a grade point better than that of last year's squad for Fall Quarter. Five Bearcats had GPAs of 3.0 or above with two student-athletes, Marcus Sikes and Branden Miller, making the Dean's List.
The Bearcat women's golf team had the highest GPA for Fall Quarter, 3.426, followed by women's basketball (3.287), volleyball (3.285), and women's cross country (3.267).
The Bearcat women's soccer team also earned a national Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for having a team GPA of at least 3.2 for the 2005-06 school year.
A total of 247 student-athletes from UC's 17 sports were named to either the Bearcat or the Topcat Honor Roll. To qualify for the Bearcat Honor Roll, a student-athlete must have earned a grade point average between 3.0 and 3.49 for the quarter, while Topcat honorees must maintain between a 3.5 and a 4.0 GPA.
The Bearcats are stepping up their levels of performance in BIG EAST competition, as four of the six UC fall sports teams improved their finish in the final conference standings over that of Fall 2005. The Bearcat teams collectively posted an improvement of three places.
UC's men's soccer team became the first Bearcat squad to claim a BIG EAST title, winning the Red Division of the league's regular season race. Cincinnati was led on the field by 2006 NSCAA/adidas first-team All-AmericanOmar Cummings, who was selected by the Colorado Rapids in the third round of the 2007 MLS Draft.
The UC coaching staff has also garnered national recognition in recent months, as head men's & women's golf coach Janet Carl was named LPGA Coach of the Year.
"It is exciting to see our student-athletes and staff working together and making significant progress in so many areas, so quickly" says Mike Thomas. "We will continue to progress as we work towards our collective goals in the three components of our CATAPULT program."
UC Athletics has also been very active in the Cincinnati community. CPAWS, the service honorary of Bearcat student-athletes, adopted two families for the holiday season and secured gifts from community donations to make their Christmases brighter.
The men's basketball team has served as mentors to youngsters from the Mercy Franciscan Young Men's Program, hosting them at practices and games. Various UC teams have made regular visits to Children's Hospital.
The Bearcat Caravan made over 50 stops featuring UC student-athletes in the Greater Cincinnati community during the summer. Planning is already underway for the 2007 schedule of Caravan stops, which could total more than 150 local events.
"Spreading the Bearcats' message is vital to our continued brand building efforts and our charge to reach out to our fans, alumni, and sports fans and share the excitement of being a Bearcat" says Thomas.
The affiliation with the BIG EAST Conference is also paying dividends in terms of television exposure for the International bowl-winning football team, who appeared on television 10 times this past season, a new record for the program. The highlight of the season was the nationally televised win over No. 7-ranked Rutgers in front of an excited Nippert Stadium crowd.
The vision for UC athletics provided by CATAPULT is providing an action plan as well as a tool for evaluating accomplishments, and the early returns find that the Bearcats are making considerable progress.
Thomas adds that he is "very proud of the strides that we are making in all areas of UC Athletics. Our achievement is coming as a result of working together as a team. Our student-athletes and staff are setting the bar high and then are reaching their goals, which is fun to be a part of."