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OCC Athletes Score on Spring Honor Roll
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Thursday, November 05, 2009
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51% is Best Academic Showing in Recent History
More than half of Orange Coast College’s student athletes achieved honor roll status in Spring 2009. Athletic Director Barbara Bond said it is the best record she can remember in recent years.
Of 316 athletes participating in 14 spring sports last year, 159–or 51%–earned a 3.0 GPA (grade point average) or higher while they completed at least 12 credits, all while training and competing in their sport.
Bond was pleased, but not totally surprised. OCC athletes usually do well in the classroom. The honor roll rate usually hovers around 47 to 48%, she reported.
Seventeen athletes earned perfect GPAs of 4.0 in Spring 2009, while another 55 excelled with GPAs of 3.5 or better.
Eight teams tallied GPA averages of 3.0 or higher. Leading the pack is women’s swimming and diving with combined GPA average of 3.2. In close pursuit were women’s basketball, women’s track and field, both men’s and women’s crew teams, men’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis and men’s golf.
Why are OCC’s athletes so successful in the classroom? “More of our coaches are encouraging them to do well,” Bond explained. The athletic program recently introduced “study hall” for student athletes at the Student Success Center. Even if the athletes don’t take advantage of free tutoring and study services, Bond said, the message is clear: “grades are important.”
OCC coaches put academics first and athletics second, she added. “If you don’t do well in the classroom,” Bond said, “your life’s a lot tougher.”
Participating in athletics also keeps students more connected to campus, she added. Many teams volunteer to help with campus events. The women’s crew team served more than 4,000 hot dogs at OCC’s Community Science Night, and the swim and cross country teams volunteered at the recent Orange County Children’s Book Festival that drew more than 20,000 attendees.
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