Winston Salem Times

Based on the figures turned into the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Wake Forest’s athletic programs are putting the student in student-athlete.

A total of 11 programs turned in a perfect 100% graduation success rate for cohort years 2010-2013. Altogether, Wake Forest’s sports teams turned in a 96% GSR, a university news release reported. That placed third among all Atlantic Coast Conference school for the school in Winston-Salem North Carolina. 

Those Wake Forest sports finishing with a 100% were baseball, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s cross-country/track, women's field hockey and volleyball. The impressive aspect for Wake Forest was consistency throughout its programs. Women’s cross-country/track and field had a 96% rate while women’s basketball’s GSR was a 92%. Football had an 88%, all above the national average.

The graduation comes on the heels of another academic success story for Wake Forest. Seven programs scored 990 or better on the academic progress report. Of those seven, four turned in a perfect score of 1,000 Wake Forest reported in a news release. The perfect scores were the most in eight years. Field hockey, men’s golf, women’s basketball and women’s tennis hit the 1,000 mark. Those programs and football, which had a 990, received the Public Recognition Award, which is given to programs finishing in the top 10% of their sport in the most recent academic progress report. It was the most honorees in seven years.

The news release reported the women’s golf team has been the model of consistency, scoring a 990 or better for the 11th consecutive time. Soccer hit a program milestone with its highest score.

"I could not be more proud of the hard work our team puts in all areas of their lives. It is not easy to compete in the toughest league in the country and balance the academic expectations,” Wake Forest women’s basketball coach Jen Hoover said, according to the news release. “When you become a Deacon, you choose to challenge yourself and commit to being a complete student-athlete. 

"The credit goes to our young ladies, their families and our athletic academic services along with the professors. Our basketball staff is committed to setting these young ladies up for success after college and for the day that orange ball stops bouncing, earning a degree from Wake Forest sets them up for life."