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Pacific student-athletes achieve academic excellence in 2023-24

student-athletes throw their graduation caps into the air at commencement

Seventy-five student-athletes received their degrees at the spring 2024 commencement in May. 

University of the Pacific student-athletes excelled in the classroom during the 2023-24 academic year, with 42 earning perfect 4.0 grade point averages in the fall semester and 43 more in the spring.

Of Pacific’s 311 student-athletes, 77% had at least a 3.0 GPA and 41% posted a GPA above 3.5, earning a spot on the Dean’s Honor Roll.

The cumulative GPA of the department was a 3.27.

“Our student-athletes set a very high standard. Nonetheless, it’s a challenging task,” said Director of Student-Athlete Development Justine Brown-Dacosta. “They have to navigate their busy schedules by managing their time efficiently and constantly communicating with coaches, staff, professors and peers to make sure they are as prepared as possible.

"Their hard work paid off, and I am so proud of our student-athletes."

Pacific landed 44 student-athletes on West Coast Conference All-Academic teams, including 13 on first teams. Women’s volleyball had three All-WCC First-Team honorees—the most in the department and for Pacific volleyball since rejoining the league in 2013. The men’s and women’s swimming teams earned a combined 16 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Academic selections.

The Tigers women’s soccer team recorded the highest team GPA of all teams with 3.61 for the year, closely followed by cross country with 3.59 and track and field with 3.52. The men’s tennis team turned in the highest team GPA on the men’s side with 3.50.

Pacific awarded degrees to 75 student-athletes at the spring 2024 commencement, including Cecilia Holmberg ’23 from women’s basketball and Dylan Parente ’23 from men’s swimming who each earned a Master’s in Business Analytics with a 4.0 GPA.

“I am extremely proud of the student-athletes and their accomplishments along with our outstanding student-athlete services staff, coaches, and institutional faculty and staff,” said Director of Athletics Adam Tschuor. 

“Ensuring academic success is one of our guiding principles, and I am delighted to see the commitment and dedication our student-athletes devote to their studies. The GPAs are impressive and are reflective of the academic excellence in athletics.”

The academic success capped a big year for Pacific Athletics, which saw five teams compete in postseason tournaments. The 2024-25 year will begin in August with cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball. Schedules will be posted in the upcoming months on pacifictigers.com.