DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University student-athletes continued to exemplify the term during the Fall 2021 academic semester as Huskie student-athletes combined to post a grade point average of 3.236. Collectively, NIU student-athletes have achieved a term GPA above 3.0 in each of the last 17 semesters.
The Huskies' cumulative GPA stands at 3.355 following the fall. In all, 316 of NIU's more than 400 student-athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and 41 own a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Fourteen of NIU's 16 teams – including football and wrestling – own a cumulative team GPA above 3.0.
Women's cross country led the way among all teams this fall with a term GPA of 3.789, followed closely by gymnastics (3.734) and women's basketball (3.684). Men's tennis compiled the top GPA among NIU's seven men's sports programs and was next overall with a 3.684 mark. Gymnastics continues to lead all programs in cumulative GPA with a 3.825, followed by women's basketball (3.745) and men's tennis (3.734). They are among eight Huskie teams with a cumulative GPA above 3.5.
"The GPA numbers from this fall demonstrate the continued commitment by our student-athletes, staff and coaches to academic success," said NIU Vice-President, Director of Athletics and Recreation Sean T. Frazier. "Numbers like these do not happen without a tremendous amount of hard work. Congratulations also go out to the staff in our Student-Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS) unit for their ongoing support of NIU student-athletes."
The Huskies' record of academic success is not confined to grade point averages, as the 27 current or former student-athletes who earned their undergraduate or graduate degrees this month, can attest. Eight Huskies were awarded a graduate degree, including six members of the NIU football team, while 19 earned their bachelor's degrees.
Thirteen different NIU teams were represented among the December graduates with 10 current or former members of the Huskie football program collecting a degree. Fifteen of the 27 grads earned degrees from either the College of Education (eight graduates) or the College of Business (seven), with Engineering (four), Health and Human Services (three) and Liberal Arts & Sciences (five) also represented. See the complete list below.
"Anytime a student-athlete earns a degree, that is a win," Frazier said. "We are extremely proud of these December grads, their families and coaches. For those that are leaving after completing their athletic careers, we look forward to welcoming them back to campus often as NIU alumni."
2021 NIU Athletics December Graduates
|
First Name
|
Last Name
|
Team
|
Major
|
|
Amber
|
Bumbalough
|
Softball
|
Psychology
|
|
Matthew
|
McCumber
|
Baseball
|
Leadership and Management
|
|
Alexander
|
Rodriguez
|
Baseball
|
Kinesiology
|
|
Rachel
|
Dumoulin
|
Basketball Women's
|
Mechanical Engineering
|
|
Brett
|
Bostad
|
Football
|
Marketing
|
|
Lance
|
Deveaux*
|
Football
|
Sport Management
|
|
Nathan
|
Harman
|
Football
|
Business Administration
|
|
Luke
|
Mallette*
|
Football
|
Sport Management
|
|
Benn
|
Olson*
|
Football
|
Engineering Management
|
|
Brayden
|
Patton*
|
Football
|
Sport Management
|
|
Kyle
|
Pugh*
|
Football
|
Sport Management
|
|
Clint
|
Ratkovich*
|
Football
|
Business Administration
|
|
Tyrice
|
Richie
|
Football
|
Sport Management
|
|
Liam
|
Soraghan
|
Football
|
Mechanical Engineering
|
|
Austin
|
Freeman
|
Golf Men's
|
Marketing
|
|
Lauren
|
Gomes*
|
Gymnastics
|
Major 1: Accountancy / Major 2: Finance / Minor in Business Analytics
|
|
Konrad
|
Dziedzic*
|
Soccer Men's
|
PhD in Pedagogy/Curr Dev in PE
|
|
Andrew
|
Palumbo
|
Soccer Men's
|
General Emphasis
|
|
Haley
|
Hoppe
|
Soccer Women's
|
Biomedical Engineering / Minor in Applied Mathematics
|
|
Danielle
|
Williams
|
Softball
|
Communications: Advocacy/Public Communications
|
|
Gabriella
|
Kaminski
|
Tennis Women's
|
Communicative Disorders / Minor in Family & Child Studies
|
|
Lara
|
Slisko
|
Tennis Women's
|
Pre-Physical Therapy / Minor in Psychology
|
|
Kenyae
|
Majors
|
Track - Indoor
|
Sport Management
|
|
Victoria
|
Robinson
|
Track - Indoor
|
General Emphasis
|
|
Miranda
|
Karlen
|
Volleyball
|
Major 1: Rehabilitation and Disability Services / Major 2: Human Dev & Family Sci: Family Relations, Prevention and Wellness / Minor in Special Education Foundations
|
|
Hannah
|
Oehlberg
|
Volleyball
|
Organizational/Corporate Communications
|
|
Tristin
|
Guaman
|
Wrestling
|
Finance
|
*Earned graduate degree
-- NIU --
