Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Celebrates Spring 2026 Academic Success
5/18/2026 10:00:00 AM | Big Green Scholarship Foundation, Buck Harless Student Athlete Program, Student-Athlete Success
Five Marshall sport programs have record-breaking semester GPAs; Herd student-athletes earn 3.43 Overall GPA this spring
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Athletics is celebrating another record-breaking academic semester for its student-athletes.
Five Marshall sport programs broke semester GPA records and the Overall Departmental GPA for Spring 2026 was 3.43, it was announced this week.
"I'm incredibly proud of our student-athletes for their commitment to excellence in every aspect of their collegiate experience," said Gerald J. Harrison, Marshall's Vice President and Director of Athletics. "This semester's academic success is a direct reflection of the Herd Mentality – the belief that we can and should excel academically, athletically, personally and within our community. Our student-athletes have embraced that challenge and continue to raise the standard for what it means to represent Marshall University."
Programs that had record-breaking semester GPAs included Volleyball (3.84), Women's Soccer (3.78), Women's Basketball (3.61), Men's Basketball (3.43) and Football (3.27).
Every Marshall Athletics program finished with at least a 3.1 GPA for the spring semester, continuing the standard of excellence that has been set at Marshall University.
"On behalf of the Buck Harless Student-Athlete Program staff, we are so proud of our student-athletes for the dedication they show to excel not only in their sport, but in the classroom as well," said Kaylyn Torain, Assistant Athletic Director for Academics. "Every program finished above a 3.1 GPA for the Spring and five programs set new semester records, which shows their hard work and commitment to academic success."
Marshall Athletics also had 86 student-athletes make the President's List (4.0 GPA or higher with 12+ credit hours) and 181 student-athletes make the Dean's List (3.3 to 3.9 with 12+ credit hours).
Harrison added that the success is a collaborative effort across all departments, led by the Buck Harless Student-Athlete Program staff, to provide a pathway to success for Marshall's student-athletes.
"This achievement would not be possible without the unwavering alignment and support across our university community – from the President's Office, to our faculty and professors, to our coaches, and especially our outstanding Buck Harless Student-Athlete Success staff, who work tirelessly to provide the tools, guidance and encouragement necessary for our students to thrive," Harrison said.
Marshall Women's Golf led all programs in Team GPA with a 3.92 while Marshall Volleyball established a new program semester record with a 3.84 GPA while Women's Soccer also achieved a record-setting 3.77 Spring GPA.
Men's Cross Country led all men's sports with a 3.49 GPA while Men's Soccer was closely behind with a 3.45. Men's Golf followed with a 3.44 and Men's Basketball had a 3.43 GPA in Spring.
In addition to the Spring 2026 GPA marks, NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Data was recently released by the NCAA with eight programs receiving perfect 1,000 marks in APR for the latest completed term, which was the 2024-25 year. The APR is a metric utilized by the NCAA that accounts for eligibility and retention in student-athletes for each academic term.
Programs to receive a perfect 1,000 score for the 2024-25 year included Baseball, Softball, Men's Basketball, Women's Golf, Men's Golf, Women's Swim and Dive, Men's Cross Country and Women's Tennis.
Of those eight programs, three of them achieved a perfect 1,000 on the Multi-Year APR, which was also released. The Multi-Year APR factors in four years of academic data. Those programs were Women's Golf, Women's Swim & Dive and Women's Tennis.
"At Marshall, we celebrate academic victories with the same passion and pride that we celebrate championships, because both require discipline, sacrifice, teamwork and an unwavering commitment to excellence," Harrison said. "Today is a great day to run with The Herd, so let's crank up the music and play Thunderstruck."
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