USC football team sets record in the classroom

South Carolina’s football team posted a school-record 2.938 GPA for spring semester.

“We are proud of that,” Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier credited Maria Hickman, South Carolina’s associate athletics director for academics and student development, with what he described as a dramatic turnaround in the football team’s academic standing during his 10-year tenure.

“She’s one of the best in the country,” Spurrier said. “Her staff does a super job of really keeping up with our players and making sure they are taking the right courses and keeping up with study hall.”

Spurrier can still remember the first time he reviewed the football team’s academic standing after taking over for Lou Holtz in 2005.

“We had about 20-25 guys who looked like they are about the flunk out,” he said. “Back then there wasn’t even a class attendance policy. Really proud of what we have done that way.”

Twenty-five Gamecock football players have or will graduate this year, Spurrier said. Included in that number is Dunta Robinson, who left South Carolina after the 2003 season and went on to a 10-year NFL career.

The men’s swimming team (3.378) and beach volleyball team (3.503) also posted record highs in team GPA. The women’s golf team, one of 16 teams with a GPA of 3.0 or better, topped all teams with a cumulative 3.705.

Seventy-one Gamecock athletes were named to the President’s List and 158 made the university’s honor roll.

“Graduation is our key focus and seeing this amount of student-athletes earn their degree is the most rewarding for myself and the Dodie Academic staff,” Hickman said. “We are proud of the success in the classroom, community and athletically from these dedicated student-athletes.”