CU Student-Athletes Eclipse 3.0 GPA For First Time Ever
June 07, 2019 | General, Herbst Academic Center
BOULDER – For the first time in University of Colorado athletics history, the department achieved a semester GPA over 3.0, finishing at 3.004 for the Spring 2019 term.
It was the 10th consecutive semester and 11th ever above 2.9 as the department has inched closer to the 3.0 threshold over the past five years.
"Kris (Livingston) and her team do a great job of working with our student-athletes on their academic performance and obviously with the GPAs that we have just announced, it's pretty significant on where we are in our athletic program," CU's Director of Athletics Rick George said. "I credit Kris and her team, but I also am really proud of our student-athletes. As we all know, student-athletes are under a lot of pressure, there's a lot of time commitment, and our student-athletes are achieving in the classroom at a very high level.
"I think [this achievement] speaks to the student-athletes' commitment, the commitment our staff has, but also to the culture we've created in our athletic department. I'm proud of our student-athletes and I'm not surprised because they're always excelling at everything they do and I'm excited about where we can take this in the future."
Kris Livingston is CU's Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student Success and leads the Herbst Academic Center, which has a full-time staff of 15. While her staff has certainly assisted the success of CU's student-athletes academically, she is quick to credit the student-athletes themselves.
"I am really proud of our student-athletes," Livingston said. "They worked really hard to hit a 3.0 GPA. If it was easy, we would reach this peak every semester. We have amazing academic success stories.
"In the Herbst Academic Center, we've been working through our strategic plan for five years now, pushing ourselves and pushing the student-athletes while increasing our GPA target. Our staff is very passionate about helping our students every single day reach their potential academically.
"The coaches also deserve credit for supporting the student-athletes in their academic endeavors and helping us hold the students accountable when needed."
CU's women's track and field team recorded its highest GPA ever this spring, hitting the 3.527 mark. CU's lacrosse team, in the sixth year the program has existed, had a 3.376 GPA, its best-ever spring GPA. The volleyball team's 3.301 GPA was its best semester in 18 years. CU's men's basketball team recorded its best team GPA in six years, culminating in a 2.628 this past term.
Ten of CU's 15 teams achieved a GPA over 3.0. Here are the highlights, broken down by team:
CU's teams broke the 2.9 GPA barrier in the Fall of 2014 for the second time ever and have steadily risen towards the 3.0 milestone since. They hit 2.994 in Spring 2017 and 2.991 in Spring 2018 before this semester's record of 3.004.
Overall, 259 (78 percent) of CU's 330 student-athletes achieved a GPA of 2.50 or better and 183 (55 percent) were over 3.0 this spring. Ninety-two (28 percent) had a 3.5 GPA and there were 17 perfect 4.0 GPAs.
CU has tracked department and team GPAs since Spring 1996.
Additionally, CU had 120 student-athletes earn academic all-conference awards in 2018-19, with 87 of those coming from the Pac-12 Conference, 23 from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (where indoor track competes), and 10 from skiing's national coaches' association.
In addition to the academic criteria, the Pac-12 also places athletic requirements to earn academic all-conference (student-athletes must have a GPA of 3.0, have been either a starter of significant contributor to their team, and have completed at least one year in residence at their current institution.
It was the 10th consecutive semester and 11th ever above 2.9 as the department has inched closer to the 3.0 threshold over the past five years.
"Kris (Livingston) and her team do a great job of working with our student-athletes on their academic performance and obviously with the GPAs that we have just announced, it's pretty significant on where we are in our athletic program," CU's Director of Athletics Rick George said. "I credit Kris and her team, but I also am really proud of our student-athletes. As we all know, student-athletes are under a lot of pressure, there's a lot of time commitment, and our student-athletes are achieving in the classroom at a very high level.
"I think [this achievement] speaks to the student-athletes' commitment, the commitment our staff has, but also to the culture we've created in our athletic department. I'm proud of our student-athletes and I'm not surprised because they're always excelling at everything they do and I'm excited about where we can take this in the future."
Kris Livingston is CU's Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student Success and leads the Herbst Academic Center, which has a full-time staff of 15. While her staff has certainly assisted the success of CU's student-athletes academically, she is quick to credit the student-athletes themselves.
"I am really proud of our student-athletes," Livingston said. "They worked really hard to hit a 3.0 GPA. If it was easy, we would reach this peak every semester. We have amazing academic success stories.
"In the Herbst Academic Center, we've been working through our strategic plan for five years now, pushing ourselves and pushing the student-athletes while increasing our GPA target. Our staff is very passionate about helping our students every single day reach their potential academically.
"The coaches also deserve credit for supporting the student-athletes in their academic endeavors and helping us hold the students accountable when needed."
CU's women's track and field team recorded its highest GPA ever this spring, hitting the 3.527 mark. CU's lacrosse team, in the sixth year the program has existed, had a 3.376 GPA, its best-ever spring GPA. The volleyball team's 3.301 GPA was its best semester in 18 years. CU's men's basketball team recorded its best team GPA in six years, culminating in a 2.628 this past term.
Ten of CU's 15 teams achieved a GPA over 3.0. Here are the highlights, broken down by team:
| Team | Spring GPA | Highlights |
| Women's Cross Country | 3.564 | 30th consecutive semester over 3.0 13th consecutive semester over 3.2 |
| Women's Ski | 3.540 | 36th consecutive semester over 3.0 15th consecutive semester over 3.2 |
| Women's Track/Field | 3.527 | Highest GPA on record 21st consecutive semester over 3.0 |
| Women's Golf | 3.383 | 17th consecutive semester over 3.0 |
| Women's Lacrosse | 3.376 | Highest spring GPA on record 10th consecutive semester over 3.0 |
| Women's Volleyball | 3.301 | Best GPA in 18 years |
| Men's Ski | 3.252 | 18th consecutive semester over 3.0 |
| Women's Soccer | 3.240 | 21st consecutive semester over 3.0 14th consecutive semester over 3.2 |
| Women's Tennis | 3.212 | |
| Men's Golf | 3.027 | 8th consecutive semester over 3.0 |
| Men's Cross Country | 2.890 | |
| Women's Basketball | 2.826 | |
| Men's Track/Field | 2.823 | |
| Men's Basketball | 2.628 | Best GPA in 6 years |
| Football | 2.599 |
CU's teams broke the 2.9 GPA barrier in the Fall of 2014 for the second time ever and have steadily risen towards the 3.0 milestone since. They hit 2.994 in Spring 2017 and 2.991 in Spring 2018 before this semester's record of 3.004.
Overall, 259 (78 percent) of CU's 330 student-athletes achieved a GPA of 2.50 or better and 183 (55 percent) were over 3.0 this spring. Ninety-two (28 percent) had a 3.5 GPA and there were 17 perfect 4.0 GPAs.
CU has tracked department and team GPAs since Spring 1996.
Additionally, CU had 120 student-athletes earn academic all-conference awards in 2018-19, with 87 of those coming from the Pac-12 Conference, 23 from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (where indoor track competes), and 10 from skiing's national coaches' association.
In addition to the academic criteria, the Pac-12 also places athletic requirements to earn academic all-conference (student-athletes must have a GPA of 3.0, have been either a starter of significant contributor to their team, and have completed at least one year in residence at their current institution.
| Team | Academic All-Conference Awards |
| Men's Basketball | 3 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Women's Basketball | 3 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Men's Cross Country | 5 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Women's Cross Country | 10 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Football | 9 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Men's Golf | 4 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Women's Golf | 3 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Lacrosse | 11 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Skiing | 10 National Collegiate All-Academic |
| Soccer | 11 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Tennis | 1 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Men's Indoor Track | 6 MPSF All-Academic |
| Women's Indoor Track | 17 MPSF All-Academic |
| Men's Outdoor Track | 5 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Women's Outdoor Track | 15 Pac-12 All-Academic |
| Volleyball | 7 Pac-12 All-Academic |
Colorado vs. Utah Highlights | October 15, 2025
Thursday, October 16
This Week in Colorado Soccer - Utah Awaits
Wednesday, October 15
Home Again, Home Again | This Week in Colorado Volleyball | Oct. 14, 2025
Wednesday, October 15
Mark Johnson, Gary Barnett and Andy Lindahl breakdown the win against Iowa State
Sunday, October 12