Aug. 17, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - As fall camp was beginning for the UCF football team nearly two weeks ago, the summer semester was winding down for most of the student-athletes. The Knights, who have been focused on the gridiron during their break from the classroom, found out this week that the team excelled once again in the classroom.
The team set a new standard for overall team grade point average in a semester as the Knights combined for a 3.035 mark during the summer.
"Again, I am very happy with our academic support people," UCF head coach George O'Leary said. "I think Kristy (Belden) and Val (Brown) have done an outstanding job of making sure the players understand how important academics are and, likewise, what is important to the coaches is important to the players and the kids have taken that message."
Sixty-seven scholarship athletes finished with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher and 19 Knights posted a GPA of 4.0 for the summer term.
In all, the Knights' scholarship athletes had a combined 3.270 GPA as each member of the team was enrolled in at least two classes for the summer term and earned six-credit hours. The new freshmen class was also impressive in the classroom as that class posted a 3.382.
"I think we did really well this summer and hopefully we can continue that trend," O'Leary added. It was the eighth-consecutive semester that the Knights have posted a team GPA of 2.75 or higher. When O'Leary took over the program four years ago, the team GPA was hovering around a 2.00.
The Knights open the 2007 campaign on Sept. 1 at NC State. The team will make its home debut in Bright House Networks Stadium vs. Texas on Sept. 15. Season tickets for the first season at the on-campus stadium are still available and can be purchased by calling 407-UCF-1000.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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