157 College Athletes Graduate With Near-Perfect GPAs

Balancing college sports with academics is no easy feat, but 157 student-athletes from the America East Conference just showed it's possible to master both.

The conference announced a record-breaking number of Presidential Scholar-Athletes for 2025-26, honoring graduating students who maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher throughout their undergraduate careers. That's 19 more honorees than last year's previous record of 138.

To earn this distinction, student-athletes had to maintain nearly straight-A averages while competing at the NCAA Division I level, attend their school for at least two years, and complete their undergraduate degree this academic year. That means early morning practices, late-night study sessions, weekend games, and midterm exams all happening at once.

Vermont led the way with 26 scholar-athletes earning the honor, followed by Maine with 23, Bryant with 22, and UMass Lowell with 19. Women's track and field athletes topped all sports with 28 honorees, while women's swimming and diving contributed 20.

The Ripple Effect

Since the Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award program launched in 2013-14, a total of 1,258 student-athletes have been recognized. That's more than a thousand young people who refused to choose between their athletic dreams and academic excellence.

These numbers reflect a broader shift in college athletics, where success is measured beyond wins and losses. The America East Conference now honors over two-thirds of its 3,500 student-athletes for classroom achievements through various academic programs.

For every one of these 157 graduates, there's a story of sacrifice: parties missed for study groups, social time traded for extra training, and countless hours learning time management skills that will serve them far beyond college. They're entering the workforce with both the discipline of athletes and the intellectual foundation of top students.

In a world that often forces young people to pick one passion over another, these scholar-athletes chose both and won.