.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Northwestern is even better in the classroom than they are on the field
Hats off to Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern on an amazing run.
Sure, the Wildcats wrapped up a very impressive 10-3 season that included a win over eventual Rose Bowl champ Stanford, but the team also deserves a nod for producing a program-record 3.24 team grade point average during the school's winter quarter, with a record 80 Wildcats earning a GPA of 3.0 or better. The Wildcats have now had 17 consecutive quarters in which at least 50 members of the football team had a 3.0 GPA or better. The quarter featured eight different Wildcats posting a perfect 4.0 GPA.
"The commitment our young men have displayed in the classroom, at one of the nation's elite universities, is remarkable," said Fitzgerald. "Following a 10-win season on the football field, this academic year has been a statement of what our program is all about. The credit for that goes to our student-athletes and their relentless pursuit of excellence."
The offseason is usually the time of year when we got some unseemly headlines in college football. I thought in light of the Wildcats' record performance in the classroom, it's the kind of story we should be spotlighting.
The fact that 80 players on the team earned a 3.0 GPA is pretty remarkable and a testament to not only Northwestern's recruiting and the types of student-athletes they're bringing in, but also the team's commitment to excelling on and off the field.
