DePaul is putting the student in student-athlete
Big East commends seven DePaul teams for academic excellence
Pat Flynn
Issue date: 6/5/09 Section: Sports
In a 25 minute conversation with DePaul Athletic Director Jean Lenti-Ponsetto the word athlete was never uttered by itself. Not even once. Student always came before it. That has been Ponsetto's priority since arriving at DePaul, and it is safe to say she has succeeded.
DePaul fields 15 teams in the Big East Conference, and seven of those teams were recently recognized for having the highest grade point average of any team in their respective sport. Overall, 23 sports were recognized and although DePaul doesn't field teams in eight of the other sports, they still led all other schools. Notre Dame, Seton Hall and Syracuse finished second in the standings with three teams each.
"A lot of times people look at the Big East conference and say 'Wow, how does DePaul measure up to Notre Dame, and Georgetown, and Villanova?'" Ponsetto explained.
She added, "I think this speaks volumes as to how DePaul measures up with some of the nations more prominent private-Catholic institutions from an academic standpoint."
DePaul's top two teams, academically, were women's cross-country and women's tennis. They finished the year with average GPAs of 3.65 and 3.53. DePaul's other first place teams included: women's basketball, men's cross-country, men's soccer, and the men's indoor and outdoor track and field teams.
"It is pretty telling of the level of commitment that the student-athletes have individually, that our coaches have individually, and collectively what the university does to support them," Ponsetto said.
DePaul student-athletes come from around the country, and in some cases, the world, so it would be impossible and unfair to profile them. But Ponsetto believes they share one thing for certain.
"There is a profile of the DePaul student-athlete," she said, "and it is typically the profile of someone who has a very strong work ethic."
"While we have some extraordinarily bright student-athletes in our program, I think what our coaches look at in recruiting, thematically, is someone who has a very strong work ethic."
DePaul fields 15 teams in the Big East Conference, and seven of those teams were recently recognized for having the highest grade point average of any team in their respective sport. Overall, 23 sports were recognized and although DePaul doesn't field teams in eight of the other sports, they still led all other schools. Notre Dame, Seton Hall and Syracuse finished second in the standings with three teams each.
"A lot of times people look at the Big East conference and say 'Wow, how does DePaul measure up to Notre Dame, and Georgetown, and Villanova?'" Ponsetto explained.
She added, "I think this speaks volumes as to how DePaul measures up with some of the nations more prominent private-Catholic institutions from an academic standpoint."
DePaul's top two teams, academically, were women's cross-country and women's tennis. They finished the year with average GPAs of 3.65 and 3.53. DePaul's other first place teams included: women's basketball, men's cross-country, men's soccer, and the men's indoor and outdoor track and field teams.
"It is pretty telling of the level of commitment that the student-athletes have individually, that our coaches have individually, and collectively what the university does to support them," Ponsetto said.
DePaul student-athletes come from around the country, and in some cases, the world, so it would be impossible and unfair to profile them. But Ponsetto believes they share one thing for certain.
"There is a profile of the DePaul student-athlete," she said, "and it is typically the profile of someone who has a very strong work ethic."
"While we have some extraordinarily bright student-athletes in our program, I think what our coaches look at in recruiting, thematically, is someone who has a very strong work ethic."
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