Kentucky Football Gets It Done In The Classroom

Comes now surprising news from the Kentucky football team. The pigskin Wildcats have produced the best semester GPA in Mitch Barnhart's 12-year tenure as Director of Athletics. From Kyle Tucker at the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Barnhart said in addition to a planned $40 million practice facility, in-progress $120 million stadium renovation and unprecedented recruiting success under Stoops and his staff, UK football's 2.813 grade-point average this spring was "by far and away the best semester academically they've had in football since I've been here," which he believes is symptomatic of a culture change.

I don't know about you, dear Big Blue Nation member, but this gives me a great deal of pride in what our football program is doing. Obviously, the next step has to be success on the field, and if that comes, I think we can all begin to feel like the ship is turning around. As of now, not many people think much of Kentucky's chances next season, and let's be honest — they have been given precious little reason for optimism despite improved recruiting.

Having said that, it's good to see that Stoops & Co. are overseeing an improvement in the classroom. Academics is arguably even more important for football than basketball, because at least at Kentucky, early NFL draft entry is a pretty rare thing, and in that situation, a diploma really means a lot more whether the player goes on to some pro ball or not.

A hearty "Well done!" to Coach Stoops and the football team. Very impressive work.