The PNW athletics teams have achieved a record high grade-point average of 3.28 for the Fall 2017 semester.

A total of 27 student-athletes maintained a 4.0 GPA, which was a 14-student increase from the Spring 2017 semester.

The three teams with the highest GPAs are women’s basketball with an average of 3.72, women’s tennis with an average of 3.67 and women’s cross-country with an average of 3.62. These are the best student-athlete team GPAs in PNW’s two-year history.

Rick Costello, athletics director, said since he started most of the athletes have had or are close to a 3.0 GPA each semester and that the department continues to raise the bar.

“We want our students to get a great education, progress towards graduation and be a vibrant part of the campus,” Costello said. “It is important that they are having a great experience and the number one priority is academics.”

For the Fall 2017 semester, 74.5 percent of student-athletes had a semester GPA of at least 3.0. In the Spring 2017 semester, 71.7 percent of student-athletes had a semester GPA of at least 3.0.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference separates athletes who achieve at least a 3.0 into teams by their GPAs. The All-Academics Teams consist of athletes with a 3.0 to a 3.49 GPA. The All-Academics Excellence Teams consist of students with a GPA above 3.5.

Chloe Conaway, AllAcademics Excellence Team member for women’s tennis, said being an athlete and preparing for classes is just a matter of knowing yourself and making good use of time management skills. Along with playing for the team, she participates in the Finance and Accounting Club and works part-time.

For the Fall 2017 semester, 77 percent of student-athletes were on the All-Academic Excellence Teams.

Costello said the key to success in academics and athletics is students’ excitement about their major fields of study.

“The students are really engaged in the academics here at the university and there is great teamwork here,” Costello said.