That result was evident at the end of fall semester, when the grades came out. Twenty-three athletes made the Dean’s List (3.4 GPA out of a possible 4.0), 15 of them with grades high enough to make the President’s List (3.7 GPA).

And right on their heels, another 14 athletes had GPAs of 3.0 to 3.39.

That’s 37 athletes, a third of those in varsity sports, who are high scorers in the classroom as well as on the playing fields and courts.

"Our coaches have done a wonderful job recruiting student athletes," said John Pizzi, UB’s assistant athletic director, who monitors the athletes’ academic performance. "The word 'student' is the key here. Because these students are here for the academics. They’re here to learn first, and then to play sports."

"Our students are focused on doing well in academics," he said. "They take pride in their schoolwork. And there’s a competition among the teams as to who can get the best GPAs."

The results are in for the fall semester. The women's gymnastics team scored highest with a team GPA of 3.313. Women’s soccer was second with a team GPA of 3.156.

So hats off to these scholar-athletes who are setting the example, and particularly to Brian LaVoy, baseball; Joey Marie Kochanski, gymnastics; Courtney Hibbard, softball; and Steindor Gislason, men’s soccer, each of whom scored a perfect 4.0 — straight As — in their fall grades.

LaVoy	Kochanski
Hibbard	Gislason

Also on the President’s List (3.7 plus) were: Korrine Powelski and Kate Warner, gymnastics; Nachelle Adler, softball; Brendon Boyce, men's basketball; Anna Henriksson and Andrea Mason, volleyball; Mark Ventura, men's soccer; Thea Andrews, Lillie Kirkley, Sara Page and Diana Silivnova, women’s soccer.

Others on the Dean’s List (3.4-3.69) included: Lee Foo, baseball; Rebecca Caravetta and Carolyn Hill, gymnastics; Sara Osborne, softball; Shalonda Hill, women’s basketball; Sofie Adolfsson, Ashley Maki and Kolburn Sveinsdottir, women’s soccer.