July 15, 2008

The combined grade point average of the Lobos' 21 athletics programs for the 2008 spring semester was a school-record 3.11 according to the UNM registrar's office. UNM's previous high was 3.08 in the 2006 spring semester. The Lobos have now reached a G.P.A. of 3.00 or better for 11 of the last 12 semesters. UNM began tracking grades in the fall of 1988.

"This is an outstanding achievement by our student-athletes," stated UNM Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs. "The hard work put in by our student-athletes, coaches, academic advisement staff and mentors is definitely reflective in the G.P.A.'s from the spring semester."

After posting a 2.98 in the fall of 2007, the Lobos 3.11 showed their biggest improvement since a jump from 2.41 to 2.67 between the fall of 1988 and the spring of 1989.

Football (2.79), men's skiing (3.75) and swimming and diving (3.50) each posted program highs for G.P.A. while women's soccer (3.47) and women's tennis (3.65) had their second highest total. Men's basketball (2.87) and women's golf (3.54) had their third best total. Men's basketball also made the biggest jump from the 2006 spring semester, improving 24% from their 2.30 G.P.A. posted a year ago.

"One of our top priorities when we started last season was to try and change the academic atmosphere within the men's basketball program," stated Lobo men's basketball coach Steve Alford. "We are not there yet, but this shows that we are headed in the right direction. We are going to continue to demand excellence in the classroom from each member of our program."

2008 University of New Mexico Spring Semester Grade Point Averages
Men
Baseball - 2.92
Basketball - 2.87
Football - 2.79
Golf - 3.08
Skiing - 3.75
Soccer - 3.17
Tennis - 2.92
Track* - 2.90
Women
Basketball - 3.26
Golf - 3.54
Skiing - 3.53
Soccer - 3.47
Softball - 3.11
Swimming and Diving - 3.50
Tennis - 3.65
Track* - 3.37
Volleyball - 3.11

Notes
• Baseball had it highest spring semester G.P.A., 6th highest overall
• Men's basketball had its third highest semester G.P.A...only spring 2006 (2.97) and fall 1997 (2.89) were better
• Women's Basketball has had a 3.0 or better each semester since the spring of 2000
• Football set a program record, bettering its previous high of 2.69 in the spring of 2003
• Women's Golf had its third highest semester G.P.A...only trailing spring 2005 (3.76) and spring 2004 (3.61)
• The men's ski team tied its best G.P.A., equaling a mark set in the spring 2001...also tied for the fifth best G.P.A. by any team in a semester in school history
• The women's ski team has had at least a 3.0 G.P.A. since the fall of 1991
• Men's soccer has had over a 3.0 for 11 of the last 12 semesters
• Only women's soccer's 3.50 in the fall of 2004 was better than their G.P.A. this semester
• Softball now has four consecutive semesters with at least a 3.0
• Swimming and Diving sets a program record for the fourth straight semester
• Women's tennis's 3.67 in the fall of 2001 is the only semester G.P.A. higher than their total for the spring of 2008
• Women's track now has 10 straight semesters of 3.0 or better
• Volleyball extends its streak of 3.0 or better to 12 semesters