Nearly 75% of all student-athletes at University of the Pacific tallied a grade point average above 3.0 in the 2024 fall semester as the average GPA of the department grew to a 3.37.

The successful fall semester raised the cumulative GPA of the department to a 3.32. Pacific posted a 3.27 in spring 2024 and a 3.26 in fall 2023.

“Since I have been here, this is the highest GPA I have seen in a semester and cumulatively,” said Director of Student-Athlete Development Justine Brown-Dacosta, who joined the staff in Dec. 2022. “Our student-athletes worked hard for this achievement. We saw an increase in the student-athletes’ advocacy for themselves, especially their academics.”

Brown-Dacosta credits some of the success to the implementation of Teamworks, a communication tool app that connects student-athletes, coaches and administrators.

“It has not only streamlined communication between us and campus partners,” she said of the tool, “but also allowed student-athletes to receive information in a timely manner, such as academic support resources and scheduling changes. This empowered them to take more control of their academic journey here at Pacific.”

Of the 350 student-athletes on campus, 262 were above a 3.0 and 63 earned a perfect 4.0 this fall. The average GPA of all women’s sports was a 3.45, with the men averaging 3.27.

The men’s tennis team tallied the highest GPA on campus with a 3.74. The cross country program was highest among women’s teams with a 3.65, followed by women’s water polo with a 3.55.

Of the 17 sports on campus, 16 recorded a GPA of at least 3.1 and 10 were above 3.4. At least one student-athlete from 16 different sports submitted a 4.0 GPA this fall.

“Our student-athletes continued to display a high level of academic excellence this semester, which has always been the standard at Pacific,” said Director of Athletics Adam Tschuor. “I am proud of our academic achievements, and I congratulate our student-athletes, coaches and academic staff for another outstanding semester in the classroom.”

In total, 157 student-athletes were honored on the Fall Dean’s Honor Roll with a high of 20 from women’s soccer and 75% of the men’s tennis team. More than 70% of student-athletes maintained a cumulative GPA above a 3.0.

Furthermore, 20 student-athletes carry a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA. This includes five from women’s soccer, four from women’s water polo, three from volleyball, two from men’s soccer and one from each baseball, men’s swim, women’s swim, women’s tennis, golf and beach volleyball.

Among the five fall sports of men’s and women’s soccer, cross country, volleyball and men’s water polo, 30 student-athletes earned recognition on the West Coast Conference All-Academic Teams. It included seven First-Team honorees including Haley Johnson ’26 and Aly Milford ’26 from women’s soccer, Alexa Edwards ’25, Dylan Gilkey ’27 and Megan Nishimura ’25 from volleyball and Bae Fountain ’25 and Mihailo Vukazic ’25 from men’s water polo.