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<h1 align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – July 7, 2021<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<h1 align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">Baylor Turns In Strong Spring Semester In The Classroom<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">For more information contact:
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Krista Pirtle, 254-447-8610,
</span><a href="mailto:Krista_Pirtle@baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Krista_Pirtle@baylor.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">
</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">WACO, Texas –
</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Baylor Athletics not only dominated the 2020-21 academic year with six Big 12 titles and a pair of national championships, but the Bears also excelled in the classroom.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Baylor finished the spring term with a 3.27 GPA, and a cumulative athletics GPA of 3.30.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Eight programs saw more than one third of their student-athletes record personal best term GPAs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">“I’m incredibly proud of our student-athletes,” said Marcus Sedberry, Senior Associate AD of Student-Athlete Success. “They have academically achieved one of the best
semesters in history in the face of continued unprecedented times. It’s the definition of personal best in the classroom. In the face of adversity, you rise above and still give your best. The partnership between student-atheltes, coaches, sport administrators
and our academic services team made this happen.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Overall, 58 percent of BU student-athletes were Academic Champions. To be honored as an Academic Champion, a student-athlete must achieve one of the following: graduated,
recorded a personal-best GPA or record over a 3.50 term GPA.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">All but four programs had more than half of their teams achieve Academic Champion status with women’s cross country and soccer leading the way with 90 and 88 percent
of their student-athletes receiving the honor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">“The 2020-21 academic year has been a year we will always remember, but our student-athletes continue to show their resiliency and determination on achieving their personal
best,” said Deedee Brown-Campbell, Associate AD for Academic Services. “Navigating exciting new class offerings, COVID protocols and a multitude of other challenges, they continue to illustrate our mission of preparing champions for life.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Seven programs recorded their best spring term GPA (with the exception of Spring 2020 with the COVID pass/fail term) – acrobatics & tumbling, baseball, equestrian, women’s
cross country, soccer, men’s track and field and women’s track and field.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Soccer led the way with a program-best 3.74 GPA. That mark was the highest of any program at Baylor.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Bears have had a 3.10 term GPA or better for 21-straight semesters. In addition, BU student-athletes have earned a 3.20 term GPA in 14 out of the last 15 semesters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">In the spring semester, 378 student-athletes (72 percent) earned a 3.0 GPA or higher, the third-most in a single semester in school history. Acrobatics & tumbling and
baseball each set program records with 81 percent and 83 percent of their rosters, respectively, finishing with a 3.0 or better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Additionally, 148 (28 percent) of those student-athletes were named to Baylor’s Dean’s List, a mark that ranks second highest on record.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">www.BaylorBears.com<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#0A5026">Krista Pirtle</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#0A5026"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">| Associate Director of Athletics Communications</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">O: 254-710-3065 | C: 254-447-8610</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:3.0pt;color:black"> </span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.baylorbears.com/"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="159" height="44" style="width:1.6562in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D77343.9F956490" alt="signature_415795080"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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