The University of Delaware takes pride in the accomplishments of its scholar-athletes, both on the field and in the classroom.

According to the most recent NCAA statistics, UD was among the leaders in Division I-AA, graduating 87 percent of students who received athletic aid. The four-year average for the Fightin' Blue Hens was 77 percent.

That compares to a 61 percent graduation rate and a four-year average of 58 percent for all Division I-AA institutions.

"At UD, we continue to place a premium on that word scholar in the phrase scholar-athlete, and our graduation rates have consistently been well above the NCAA average and, in many years, above the average for the University's student body as a whole," Edgar Johnson, director of athletics, says.

Through the 2002-03 seasons, UD scholar-athletes captured a number of important academic honors. Nine Fightin' Blue Hens were selected for regional All-Academic teams through a program sponsored by Verizon and the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Three women's track and field standouts--senior triple jumper Laura Dietrich, junior weight thrower Jessica Urbonas and senior middle-distance runner Erin Gemmill--were named to the District II All-Academic first team this spring. Delaware, Rice University and the University of Wisconsin were the only schools in the nation to place three or more student-athletes on an all-district track and field first team.

All three also were named to the first team for women's indoor track, and Gemmill was named to the first team for women's cross country.

Other first team selections were Ben Cross in football and Kim Wagaman in women's field hockey.

Second team selections were Chris Mooney in football, Caryn Blood in women's soccer, Lissa Kutz in rowing and Dave Finneran in men's cross country, indoor track
and outdoor track.

Also, the College Swimming Coaches Association of America recognized the University of Delaware swimming and diving teams for their outstanding academic accomplishments. The UD women's swimming and diving team posted a team cumulative grade point average of 3.404 for the fall 2002 semester to rank 10th among all NCAA Division I women's programs and 18th among all swimming programs--men's and women's--at all divisions throughout the nation.

The UD men posted a cumulative grade point index of 2.87 for the fall to rank 32nd among men's Division I programs and 165th among all programs throughout the nation.

Through the fall 2002 semester, 18 of the 24 members of the UD women's swimming and diving team carried cumulative grade point averages of 3.0 or better, including 14 with an average of 3.5 or better. For the UD men, 13 of the 25 team members had cumulative averages of 3.0 or better through the fall semester, including three with an average of 3.5 or better.