Gray Matter Matters in UM Athletes

When my wife was working on her masters degree at UM and working as a TA she once had to meet with a UM coach to talk about a student athlete who was not performing up to expectations.It was with a certain amount of trepidation she told the coach that this athlete might not pass the course.  Afraid she might feel pressured to give him a break you can imagine how she felt when the coach said something to the effect of "I'll handle it.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention."  Then he brought it to the athlete's attention.

That coach is no longer here but his behavior is emblematic of the quality of staff we have in the UM athletic department. 

Here are some stats:

Coach Wayne Tinkle's UM Griz basketball team finished the 2010 fall semester with a 3.05 team GPA, there highest semester grade point average in five years.

Jerry Wagner's volleyball team...3.46 GPA, the department's highest.

Coach Steve Ascher's women's tennis team?  3.44

Coach Selvig's Lady Griz...3.41

Coach Courtney Babcock's women's cross country team earned a 3.40.

The department as a whole maintains a cumulative grade point average of 3.02, more than a tenth of a point better than the University's undergraduates as a whole while taking, on average, over a credit more work load per semester.

We love the winning records.  We're even more impressed by the student athletes who achieve them.