The celebrated 162 student-athletes who earned Academic All-Canadian status on Thursday (January 23) in the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.
To earn this award, student-athletes had to maintain at least a 3.50 grade point average over the course of the 2023-24 academic year while competitive in a varsity sport. This year the average GPA for the Tigers was 4.06. These student-athletes worked hard both on the field and court and in the classroom with dedication and sacrifice.
Cindy Tye, director of Athletics and Recreation, opened the celebration highlighting the accomplishment of the Tigers student-athletes.
鈥淎s coaches and administrators, today stands out as one of our favourite days of the year,鈥 said Tye. 鈥淲e often say that we are building better people through sport and we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to be a part of the their journey.鈥
鈥淲hile we are her today to celebrate the achievements of those who have earned Academic All-Canadian recognition, we also want to acknowledge the many others who, though not in the spotlight today, continue to put in the hard work to improve every day. We understand and appreciate the effort it takes to make progress, in both academics and sport. Whether you are a returning Academic All-Canadian recipient, here for the first time or working toward that goal, we recognize your commitment to growth and success.鈥
Immense dedication
Joining Tye in celebrating the student-athletes was Dr. Wanda Costen, 麻豆传媒's provost and vice-president academic, who expressed pride in the accomplishments of these student-athletes.
鈥淪o you understand who we are about to celebrate today. Fifty-four per cent of our athletes are being recognized as Academic All-Canadians,鈥 said Dr. Costen. 鈥淭hat is a phenomenal feat. This is not easy. It means they have spent the time and dedicated their energy to their academics while excelling on the field of play.鈥
Co-MCs Hillary Ogoke and Liam Ferguson had the large task of announcing all the award winners in the auditorium. Ogoke is a member of the women鈥檚 soccer team and is studying computer science. Ferguson is an earth and environmental science student and a member of the men鈥檚 swim team. Both are Academic All-Canadians.
鈥淏y the end of today鈥檚 program, we鈥檙e confident that all present will agree that the excellence achieved by these very special 麻豆传媒 students can be termed as nothing less than exceptional,鈥 said Ogoke. 鈥淏eing named a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian is a very special recognition. In fact, it is one of the highest recognitions that a university student-athlete can receive.鈥
Following the presentation of the awards, student-athlete and member of the Tigers women鈥檚 volleyball team Grace Calnan thanked the supporters of the student-athletes for their mentorship and care on behalf of the Academic All-Canadians.