Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Cal Poly Foundation Announces Creation of Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Award
6/7/2024 11:30:00 AM | General
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly Athletics prides itself on pursuing excellence in the classroom and in competition, and starting this fall the Cal Poly Foundation will reward the school's top student-athletes academically through the creation of an Academic Achievement Award.
Starting with the fall 2024 quarter, the Cal Poly Foundation Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Award will give every full-time (enrolled in 12 units or more) student-athlete that earns a 4.0 GPA in a quarter an approximately $2,000 award for their dedication and hard work in the classroom. The award created by the Cal Poly Foundation Board will be handed out quarterly for the next two academic years through a $300 million endowment.
The creation of the award was announced by Bill Swanson, chairman of the Cal Poly Foundation Board, during Cal Poly Athletics' annual Night of the Mustang on Wednesday night.
"The Foundation determined the recent Alston v. NCAA Supreme Court case provided the Cal Poly Foundation Board with a way to support our top academic student-athletes," Swanson said. "Starting this fall, student-athletes that earn a 4.0 GPA each quarter will receive approximately $2,000 tax free from the Cal Poly Foundation Academic Achievement Award Fund. Cal Poly Athletics averages about 8% of the student-athletes earning 4.0 GPA's quarterly and the Foundation's expectation is that those numbers will continue to increase."
Cal Poly has an incredible 93% student-athlete graduation rate, and this award is intended to recognize those student-athletes that strive for greatness in all aspects of their lives.
"I am so proud of the tremendous accomplishments of our student athletes," Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said. "The successes they've demonstrated on the field are impressive, but their academic achievements are extraordinary and will accelerate their successes in life well into the future. My special thanks and appreciation go out to Chairman Swanson and the entire Cal Poly Foundation Board for their leadership and making these innovative academic honor awards a reality for our student athletes."
Cal Poly women's golf head coach Courtney Roberts, who saw six of her eight student-athletes earn 4.0 GPAs during the winter quarter, said this Academic Achievement Award promotes all the core values of being a high-level student-athlete at Cal Poly.
"I continue to be amazed by the quality of our student-athletes at Cal Poly," Roberts said. "They are striving for academic and athletic excellence each day. There is a lot of hard work, sweat and discipline that goes into someone receiving a 4.0. As a coach, it means a lot to be able to provide an extra incentive to recognize their hard work at the end of the quarter.
We are grateful for the Cal Poly Foundation for stepping up to reward these students each quarter with an Academic Achievement Award. The Mustang Way is pursuing both academic and athletic excellence, and rewarding funds to student-athletes through the Alston award provides a way to celebrate that success."
The opportunity to create the Cal Poly Foundation Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Award was made possible by the landmark Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Alston. In 2014, current and former Division I student-athletes filed a class action lawsuit alleging the NCAA's restrictions on compensation and benefits were unreasonable and restricted what student-athletes could receive in exchange for their participation in athletics. In 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the student-athletes, paving the way for universities to provide education-related benefits and monetary academic achievement awards to their student-athletes tax free.
The Cal Poly Foundation, led by Cal Poly alumni and friends, was founded in 2006 to generate private support to help build and maintain Cal Poly's multidisciplinary Learn by Doing educational model. In addition to providing leadership to raise private support for the university, the foundation board also manages the university's $200 million endowment and other private gifts. For more information on the Foundation click here.
Starting with the fall 2024 quarter, the Cal Poly Foundation Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Award will give every full-time (enrolled in 12 units or more) student-athlete that earns a 4.0 GPA in a quarter an approximately $2,000 award for their dedication and hard work in the classroom. The award created by the Cal Poly Foundation Board will be handed out quarterly for the next two academic years through a $300 million endowment.
The creation of the award was announced by Bill Swanson, chairman of the Cal Poly Foundation Board, during Cal Poly Athletics' annual Night of the Mustang on Wednesday night.
"The Foundation determined the recent Alston v. NCAA Supreme Court case provided the Cal Poly Foundation Board with a way to support our top academic student-athletes," Swanson said. "Starting this fall, student-athletes that earn a 4.0 GPA each quarter will receive approximately $2,000 tax free from the Cal Poly Foundation Academic Achievement Award Fund. Cal Poly Athletics averages about 8% of the student-athletes earning 4.0 GPA's quarterly and the Foundation's expectation is that those numbers will continue to increase."
Cal Poly has an incredible 93% student-athlete graduation rate, and this award is intended to recognize those student-athletes that strive for greatness in all aspects of their lives.
"I am so proud of the tremendous accomplishments of our student athletes," Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said. "The successes they've demonstrated on the field are impressive, but their academic achievements are extraordinary and will accelerate their successes in life well into the future. My special thanks and appreciation go out to Chairman Swanson and the entire Cal Poly Foundation Board for their leadership and making these innovative academic honor awards a reality for our student athletes."
Cal Poly women's golf head coach Courtney Roberts, who saw six of her eight student-athletes earn 4.0 GPAs during the winter quarter, said this Academic Achievement Award promotes all the core values of being a high-level student-athlete at Cal Poly.
"I continue to be amazed by the quality of our student-athletes at Cal Poly," Roberts said. "They are striving for academic and athletic excellence each day. There is a lot of hard work, sweat and discipline that goes into someone receiving a 4.0. As a coach, it means a lot to be able to provide an extra incentive to recognize their hard work at the end of the quarter.
We are grateful for the Cal Poly Foundation for stepping up to reward these students each quarter with an Academic Achievement Award. The Mustang Way is pursuing both academic and athletic excellence, and rewarding funds to student-athletes through the Alston award provides a way to celebrate that success."
The opportunity to create the Cal Poly Foundation Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Award was made possible by the landmark Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Alston. In 2014, current and former Division I student-athletes filed a class action lawsuit alleging the NCAA's restrictions on compensation and benefits were unreasonable and restricted what student-athletes could receive in exchange for their participation in athletics. In 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the student-athletes, paving the way for universities to provide education-related benefits and monetary academic achievement awards to their student-athletes tax free.
The Cal Poly Foundation, led by Cal Poly alumni and friends, was founded in 2006 to generate private support to help build and maintain Cal Poly's multidisciplinary Learn by Doing educational model. In addition to providing leadership to raise private support for the university, the foundation board also manages the university's $200 million endowment and other private gifts. For more information on the Foundation click here.
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