When one of Head Coach Chris Petersen’s football players shows remarkable improvement in the classroom or posts a personal-best GPA, he singles out that student-athlete in a team meeting to celebrate his success or calls the young man’s parents or former coaches to praise him. Why? Because a great performance in school is more important than a great play on the field.
That’s the remarkable culture we’ve developed — at Washington, every coach, every sport, every student-athlete understands that the academic experience is paramount. The philosophy that Husky student-athletes will excel in their studies, graduate and succeed in life begins before they ever set foot on campus.
We seek out recruits who embrace our high standards. They know up front how demanding this institution is and how hard they will have to work to achieve the academic excellence we expect of them.
And, wow, do they rise to the challenge! In the 2018 winter quarter, 21 of our 22 teams earned a 3.0 team GPA or better — a record for UW Athletics! Given the incredible demands on student-athletes’ time for practices, training, game days and more, that level of academic success is one we can all be proud of. And every quarter, our student-athletes strive to do better and better.
You can take some credit for that success, too. Of course, we’re grateful to donors like you who fund our academic services — thank you! But you’re a huge part of our culture as well. You share our passion not just for competition but for our student-athletes’ success in life. That’s what makes UW Athletics — and you — so very special.
Go Huskies!
Jennifer Cohen
UW Director of Athletics
