TicketsJuly 27, 2011
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati football team earned the BIG EAST Conference Academic Excellence Award for the 2010 season, the league office announced Wednesday.
The team winners were chosen based on the 2010-11 grade-point average of each student-athlete who appeared on an institution's roster as of the last contest of the championship segment in each conference-sponsored sport.
The football team achieved a 2.68 GPA for the 2010-11 year, including an all-time team record of a 2.9 team GPA for the 2011 Winter Academic Quarter.
"This is a great honor academically," head coach Butch Jones said. "I'm very proud of our student-athletes, coaches and especially our academic staff. We need to continue to transition our winning in the classroom to all phases of our program, including on the field, in the community and in life. We have set a high bar for the future and will have to work even harder to continue succeeding in the classroom."
Since Coach Jones' arrival in the winter of 2009, the team GPA has stayed consistently above a 2.7. In 2010, a league-high 19 student-athletes were named Academic All-BIG EAST and John Goebel (Milford, Mich./Brother Rice) earned the 2010 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
"The team GPA is a reflection of the support and commitment to academics by Coach Jones and his staff," Keri Thoman, the football academic advisor for upperclassmen said. "I believe the Bearcat Olympics program is a driving force behind the recent academic success of the team."
The Bearcat Olympics program was started in 2009 by Coach Jones. Players are grouped into teams and they compete during the offseason in a number of activities, including academics, community service, and workouts.
"A lot of credit has to go to the players and the work they do in and out of the classroom," Andy Espelage, freshmen football academic advisor said. "They have done a nice job setting the bar and will have to work hard to keep it there and surpass it."
The Bearcats will report back to campus on Aug. 7, 2011 to begin preparations for the season. The first practice of training camp is scheduled for Aug. 8 and the season opener is set for Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. against Austin Peay inside Nippert Stadium.