Nine Lethbridge College Kodiaks student-athletes have combined academics and athletics at the highest level, earning Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Academic All-Canadian honours. The CCAA considers the Academic All-Canadian award as its most prestigious honour.
To be eligible, student-athletes must earn at least all-conference status in their sport, while also achieving a grade point average of at least 3.3. The Kodiaks nine honourees are tied for the most in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and are tied for third most in the nation.
“The three pillars of our program are academic accountability, athletic excellence and the student-athlete experience – and there’s a reason academics comes first on that list,” says Todd Caughlin, manager of Kodiaks Athletics. “We know that these tremendously skilled athletes have a chance to use athletics to further their academics and it’s heartening to see how many of our student-athletes are able to balance both at the highest level. It’s a testament to their commitment, drive and organizational skills, and I want to congratulate every one of them.”
The Kodiaks list of CCAA Academic All-Canadians includes three student-athletes who earned ACAC player of the year honours – Brock Dewsbery (men’s basketball), Ben Knight (men’s soccer) and Christine Moser (women’s soccer). Also honoured are women’s basketball player Kirsten Barwegen, women’s cross country runners Rosie Bouchard and Anna Leblanc, women’s soccer player Jasmin Salmon, men’s soccer player Jimmy Bukuru and men’s volleyball player Michael Hummel.
The nine CCAA Academic All-Canadians is the second highest total in Kodiaks history. The Kodiaks have had at least six CCAA Academic All-Canadians in each of the past five seasons. The Kodiaks also had 47 CCAA national scholars and 53 ACAC academic honours this season.
Kodiaks student-athletes have boasted a higher combined GPA than the general student population for nine-straight semesters. In the fall 2019 semester, Kodiaks student-athletes averaged a GPA of 2.91, and nearly 80 per cent of Kodiaks student-athletes had a GPA of at least 2.5.
Kodiaks student-athletes are able to access the Student Athlete Academic Success (SAAS) program through Lethbridge College’s Learning Café. The program recognizes the demands on their time and works with their schedules to ensure their work in the classroom does not suffer from their involvement in athletics.