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The UNM swimming and diving team may have only finished sixth in the MWC this year, but it still has something to be proud of.
Sophomore swimmer Carlie McGregor earned a 4.33 GPA for the 2011-12 school year, the highest of any athlete at UNM. McGregor, along with 96 other UNM athletes, received a MWC scholar-athlete award. These awards are given to athletes with a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
UNM had the highest number of scholar-athletes in the conference. Boise State came in second with 70 scholar-athletes.
Eighteen of the UNM scholar-athletes had a GPA of 4.0 or higher.
McGregor, who has received an A in every class she has taken at UNM, said being an athlete has its benefits in the classroom.
“For me, it’s easier as an athlete to do well in school,” she said. “It forces me to get into a rhythm. It forces me to maintain a schedule. (Swimming) practice forces you to get on top of your work because you don’t have time to push it back.”
The women’s track and field team led the way with 17 scholar-athletes. The women’s soccer team and the swimming and diving team tied for second with 12 scholar-athletes. UNM women’s soccer head coach Kit Vela said she stresses to her players the importance of doing well in the classroom.
“We as a staff teach them all the time that there is a direct correlation to how you’re doing in the classroom and how you’re doing on your field of play,” Vela said. “I think the majority of my team buys into that, so it reflects in the team GPA.”
Vela said she takes a prospect’s GPA into consideration when recruiting.
“I want my top athletes to be great students,” Vela said. “When we recruit, we’re not looking for a great athlete; we’re looking for a great student-athlete. Some of my best players are also some of my best students in the best programs at UNM.”
In the 2012 spring semester, the female athletes at UNM had an average GPA of 3.47, while the male athletes had an average GPA of 3.01. The female scholar-athletes also outnumbered the male scholar-athletes 74 to 19, but the men’s ski team had the highest average GPA with a 3.77. The UNM men’s basketball team had no scholar-athletes this academic year, and the football team had only two. Vela said the disparity between the genders is due to the fact that female athletes are less likely to go on to compete professionally.
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“Less women go and play professionally after college, so they really understand the fact that getting their degree is equally as important as doing well in their sport,” Vela said. “A lot of male athletes feel that they’re going to play professionally, so school is kind of secondary to them. If more women played professionally, they might have that attitude as well.”
