Ole Miss Men’s Basketball vs Alabama on Wednesday, February 26th, 2014 at the Tad Pad in Oxford, MS.
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss men’s golf team and the women’s soccer team received the Chancellor’s Cup during halftime ceremonies honoring student-athlete’s academic achievements at the Rebel basketball game Wednesday night.
The Chancellor’s Cup is awarded to the men’s and women’s varsity teams with the highest cumulative grade point average among all sports at Ole Miss for the spring 2013 and fall 2013 semesters.
Men’s golf, earned the award for the first time in its history, wrestling it away from men’s tennis, who held the award 10 consecutive years. The Rebel linksters led all men’s sports in the fall with a 3.43 GPA, their highest in more than a decade. Forrest Gamble and Jacob Ross led the way with a 4.0.
“I am really proud of our guys,” head coach Ernest Ross said. “It was a total team effort. I also appreciate our academic advisor Justin Light who was instrumental in keeping our team motivated. I hope our guys remember this trophy for a long time.”
Soccer posted the highest GPA among all teams in the last decade with a 3.68 last fall. All team members have a resident GPA of 3.0 or higher and all 15 eligible players made the fall SEC Academic Honor Roll. Rafaelle Souza was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-American.
“Our priorities are family, academics and soccer in that order,” head coach Matt Mott said. “I’m so proud of the way we approach our academic responsibilities when it comes to being a student-athlete at Ole Miss. This team has been focused all year in everything we do and this award reinforces that focus and commitment. It’s a great recognition for the team and I’m proud of the work these young ladies have put forth in the classroom and on the field.”
The Rebels posted a school-record 16 wins, including an NCAA Tournament second round appearance, and hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in school history.
Also honored at halftime were students who made the University’s Chancellor’s Honor Roll (3.75-4.00 semester GPA), Dean’s Honor Roll (3.50-3.74) and the UMAA honor roll (3.00 or higher) during the fall semester.
For all things related to the success of Ole Miss student-athletes in the classroom, follow the academic support office on Twitter, @RebelAcademics.