TicketsCINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati saw its student-athletes post a 3.5348 departmental GPA this spring, the second-highest mark in program history, behind only fall 2025. It's the 36th straight grading period at 3.0 or above, and the third straight above 3.5.
Of 372 student-athletes counted toward the GPA, 323, or 86.7%, hit a 3.0 or better. Sixty-eight earned a 4.0 for TopCat honors, 251 made the dean's list (3.4 or above) and 312 landed on the Bearcat Honor Roll (3.0 or above).
On the conference stage, individual brilliance mirrored the department's collective success. Three Bearcats were named Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year in their respective sports: Juliette Laracuente-Huebner (Track & Field), Ava LaRuffa (Lacrosse) and Mia Hensley (Swim & Dive). Their achievements cap off a dominant two-year stretch during which 11 different Cincinnati teams have recorded historic, record-breaking semester GPAs.
Behind the impressive academic numbers is a daily system conducted on the fifth floor of the Richard E. Lindner Center. Football, men's basketball and women's basketball student-athletes attend an Academic Club Monday through Friday, each paired with an academic coach who helps them plan their week and stay on top of assignments.
Academic Club/Coaching appointments are supported by each team’s coaching staff, weight staff and athletic trainers. They are aware of each team’s Club times and communicate directly with SASS academic Counselors on a daily basis regarding the status of their student-athletes.
Two full-time learning specialists, Kelley Reis and Michelle Woods, work with their own individual caseloads of student-athletes across all sports to develop effective academic habits used as the base for long-term success. Reis coordinates and trains the Academic Coaches who reside in Academic Club, and Woods coordinates tutoring services with the campus Learning Commons to ensure wraparound support.
The data backs up the structure: More than 10,000 academic appointments in the last two years carried just a 6% late rate and a 1.6% no-show rate, with a 3.519 average departmental GPA across that span. Football has topped a 3.4 GPA in three of the last four semesters, with caseload students averaging above 3.5, consistently outpacing the team average. Its best semester, a 3.488 team GPA, came with zero no-shows across the program.