Central Michigan University Athletics
Academic Success to Kick Off the New Year
1/19/2021 8:50:00 AM | General
As we kick off 2021, I want to wish you a Happy New Year. I hope you and your family had a safe and enjoyable holiday season. In these challenging times, it is so important to remain in touch with those who are important to us, and as our CMU Chippewa Athletics family we wanted to reach out to you.
I want to start by taking a moment to recognize the celebrations in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King at Central Michigan University this week. Many of Dr. King's messages are still relevant today as we continue to work for justice and equality for all. As you know, the Board of Trustees' resolution on June 25, 2020, reaffirmed the University's commitment to its values of inclusiveness, respect, compassion, integrity, and social responsibility. I have enjoyed the meaningful conversations I have had with our staff and student-athletes on how we can advance the Trustees' directive through Athletics.
We begin a new semester on the heels of another strong academic performance by our student-athletes. In the fall semester our student-athletes, collectively, posted a 3.373 grade point average, marking the 44th consecutive semester that Chippewa student-athletes have come in above 3.0. As a department, our cumulative GPA is a 3.297, up from 3.193 one year ago.
Some other highlights:
I also credit and thank our faculty, coaches, staff and campus partners for their role in this success. From my initial conversations with CMU, it was very apparent academic success was a priority and expectation. It wasn't just something our student-athletes had to do so they could play sports, it was a top priority of each program. They took as much pride in the student-athletes who graduated as they did success on the playing fields. The challenges faced by our faculty and staff were in many ways equal to our student-athletes and they tackled them with the same dedication and resolve, ensuring that every CMU student could succeed.
Academic success will always be a top priority for me. We have to prepare our student-athletes for long-term success as a very small number find a career in their sport after leaving Mount Pleasant. We talk a lot of our championships and success on the field, but one thing I have come to find since my arrival here is that many people also talk about our academic success, especially the great things our student-athletes have done in their professional lives. It is no secret the number of leaders CMU has produced in many different professional fields across the country.
Another success during the fall semester was our football program being able to complete its season with no postponements or cancellations. In fact, no MAC West Division program had a schedule interruption during the season. This shows that the protocols and process that we put in place worked. A big reason the start of our season was delayed was to make sure we had everything in place to ensure a successful year. Much of the credit goes to our student-athletes and coaches, who made the personal choice to do things the right way to keep themselves, and those around them, safe.
It is clear that the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic will remain with us in the coming months. We continue to work with our campus partners and local health and medical officials to make decisions with our programs that put the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff first. As new issues arise, we will continue to communicate changes as they happen and be up front with our decision-making.
Even though it is a necessary decision to keep everyone safe, not being able to host fans has been tough, especially as a new AD who wants to experience the great gameday atmospheres I have heard about. We have spent a lot of time during my first 100 days talking about our gameday experience and making sure we are ready when fans can return. We have a lot of great things to celebrate and look forward to doing that with you.
The past year has been very difficult for many and the challenges sometimes seem unending. It is important that we continue to look out for each other as we are all members of the Central Michigan family. This place is special because of how people look out for each other. I am so thankful of the support I have received from many different sources, from President Davies and our campus leadership, as well as our donors, fans and the Mount Pleasant community. We will get through this together and emerge stronger, because that is what CMU Chippewas do!
Fire Up Chips!  Â
Amy Folan
Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics
I want to start by taking a moment to recognize the celebrations in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King at Central Michigan University this week. Many of Dr. King's messages are still relevant today as we continue to work for justice and equality for all. As you know, the Board of Trustees' resolution on June 25, 2020, reaffirmed the University's commitment to its values of inclusiveness, respect, compassion, integrity, and social responsibility. I have enjoyed the meaningful conversations I have had with our staff and student-athletes on how we can advance the Trustees' directive through Athletics.
We begin a new semester on the heels of another strong academic performance by our student-athletes. In the fall semester our student-athletes, collectively, posted a 3.373 grade point average, marking the 44th consecutive semester that Chippewa student-athletes have come in above 3.0. As a department, our cumulative GPA is a 3.297, up from 3.193 one year ago.
Some other highlights:
- 14 of our 16 programs boasted a 3.00 GPA or better, topped by the women's cross-country team with a 3.83.
- 63 student-athletes earned a perfect 4.00 semester GPA.
- 294 individuals finished the semester with a GPA of 3.00 or higher.
- 18 student-athletes received their diploma.
I also credit and thank our faculty, coaches, staff and campus partners for their role in this success. From my initial conversations with CMU, it was very apparent academic success was a priority and expectation. It wasn't just something our student-athletes had to do so they could play sports, it was a top priority of each program. They took as much pride in the student-athletes who graduated as they did success on the playing fields. The challenges faced by our faculty and staff were in many ways equal to our student-athletes and they tackled them with the same dedication and resolve, ensuring that every CMU student could succeed.
Academic success will always be a top priority for me. We have to prepare our student-athletes for long-term success as a very small number find a career in their sport after leaving Mount Pleasant. We talk a lot of our championships and success on the field, but one thing I have come to find since my arrival here is that many people also talk about our academic success, especially the great things our student-athletes have done in their professional lives. It is no secret the number of leaders CMU has produced in many different professional fields across the country.
Another success during the fall semester was our football program being able to complete its season with no postponements or cancellations. In fact, no MAC West Division program had a schedule interruption during the season. This shows that the protocols and process that we put in place worked. A big reason the start of our season was delayed was to make sure we had everything in place to ensure a successful year. Much of the credit goes to our student-athletes and coaches, who made the personal choice to do things the right way to keep themselves, and those around them, safe.
It is clear that the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic will remain with us in the coming months. We continue to work with our campus partners and local health and medical officials to make decisions with our programs that put the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff first. As new issues arise, we will continue to communicate changes as they happen and be up front with our decision-making.
Even though it is a necessary decision to keep everyone safe, not being able to host fans has been tough, especially as a new AD who wants to experience the great gameday atmospheres I have heard about. We have spent a lot of time during my first 100 days talking about our gameday experience and making sure we are ready when fans can return. We have a lot of great things to celebrate and look forward to doing that with you.
The past year has been very difficult for many and the challenges sometimes seem unending. It is important that we continue to look out for each other as we are all members of the Central Michigan family. This place is special because of how people look out for each other. I am so thankful of the support I have received from many different sources, from President Davies and our campus leadership, as well as our donors, fans and the Mount Pleasant community. We will get through this together and emerge stronger, because that is what CMU Chippewas do!
Fire Up Chips!  Â
Amy Folan
Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics
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