July 23, 2012
Irving, Texas -
The University of Tulsa rowing team earned the Conference USA Sport Academic Award, which is given to the team in each conference-sponsored sport with the highest GPA for the 2011-12 academic year. In just the third year that C-USA has recognized rowing as a conference sport, the Golden Hurricane women's rowing team captured the sport academic award for the second time in those three years. Tulsa's rowing team posted an overall 3.343 GPA in 2011-12. Since joining Conference USA in 2005, Tulsa has won the sport academic award 13 times.
Tulsa also earned perhaps the most prestigious honor that Conference USA awards during the academic year, as TU won the Conference USA Institutional Excellence Award for the first time since joining the league.
The Institutional Excellence Award is given to the C-USA institution with the highest grade point average during the 2011-12 academic year for all student-athletes in conference-sponsored sports. Tulsa student-athletes combined for an annual GPA of 3.121, ending Rice's six-year run as the Institutional Excellence recipient.
"This is an outstanding accomplishment by our student-athletes," said Director of Athletics Ross Parmley. "The success on the playing field with winning eight conference championships during the 2011-12 academic year, and now adding this most prestigious academic award reconfirms our athletic mission. Our student-athletes not only have an opportunity to compete at the highest level while making progress toward their degree, but they are accomplishing these goals emphatically with winning championships and achieving high marks in the classroom."
"I congratulate our student-athletes, coaches and our academic services staff for their tremendous efforts in reaching this notable achievement," added Parmley.
The following is a list of all the Sports Academic award honorees:
Sport Recipient GPA
Baseball *Memphis 3.225
Men's Basketball *Rice 3.166
Women's Basketball East Carolina 3.381
Men's Cross Country *Memphis 3.736
Women's Cross Country Southern Miss 3.820
Football UCF 2.686
Men's Golf *Memphis 3.402
Women's Golf **Memphis 3.711
Women's Rowing Tulsa 3.343
Men's Soccer #South Carolina 3.411
Women's Soccer *Marshall 3.479
Softball Houston 3.500
Women's Swimming East Carolina 3.573
Men's Tennis Rice 3.496
Women's Tennis Memphis 3.614
Men's Track and Field Southern Miss 3.573
Women's Track and Field Rice 3.382
Volleyball Southern Miss 3.595
* Repeat winner
# Affiliate member for men's soccer
In eight years as a member of Conference USA, Tulsa athletic teams have won a league-best 48 conference championships.
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Since the opening of the Donald W. Reynolds Center in 1998, Tulsa’s athletic facilities have undergone a major facelift. New facilities include the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, the Collins Family Softball Complex, the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium, the J. Bird Sr. Shell Nest, the Jack Zink Indoor Rowing Center, the Case Athletic Complex and major renovation to H.A. Chapman Stadium.
TU is 75th among national doctoral universities in U. S. News & World Report's 2012 edition of America's Best Colleges. TU's 2011 freshman class had a mean cumulative grade point average of 3.8, and 74 percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. Their average ACT was 28.
The Golden Hurricane Club, as the primary fundraising arm of TU Athletics, works to provide every TU student-athlete with the opportunity to realize a world-class athletic and academic experience.
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