LOUISVILLE, Ky.--The Bellarmine University Department of Athletics reported the academic success of their student-athletes for the fall 2012 semester today, and the results are among the best in school history.

With 430 student-athletes on campus in the fall, 316 of them (73.5 percent) achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or better for an overall GPA of 3.27.  Thirty student-athletes recorded perfect 4.0 GPAs in the fall.

All athletic teams (including the cheerleaders and dance team) had team GPAs of 2.85 or above.  In fact, 90 percent of the team GPAs were above 3.0.

The women's cross country team mirrored their stellar competitive season with a stellar academic performance. They finished 19th at the national championship with two runners earning All-America honors this fall as they were recording the best team grades on campus with a  3.54 GPA.   

The Bellarmine news comes on the heels of the NCAA releasing a report that shows the Great Lakes Valley Conference ranked third of 23 Division II conferences in both "Academic Success Rate" and "Federal Graduation Rate." 

The report, which focuses on the academic success of freshman cohorts who enrolled in school between 2002-05, and were then given a six-year window to graduate, indicates that 3,404 of the GLVC's 4,263 student-athletes earned their degrees, which established the conference's ASR.  The FGR was calculated by 1,889 graduates among 3,059 selected student-athletes.