ACC Names 7,496 Athletes to Academic Honor Roll
The conference recognized student-athletes for maintaining a 3.0 grade point average during the 2025-26 academic year.
Updated on Oct. 16, 2026 in College Applications
Live Poll
Should college student-athletes be required to maintain a high grade point average to participate in sports?
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that 7,496 student-athletes achieved honor roll status for the 2025-26 academic year. To qualify, participants must earn a grade point average of 3.0 or better throughout the year.
Why it matters
This recognition highlights the ongoing emphasis on academic achievement within major collegiate athletics. It underscores how institutions balance rigorous varsity sports participation with high classroom standards for thousands of student-athletes.
Duke led all institutions with 654 honorees, followed by Stanford with 620 and California with 602. Seventeen athletes were recognized for the sixth time.
The players
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., that manages intercollegiate competition across numerous sports.
Duke
Duke is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, that is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Stanford
Stanford is a private research university in Stanford, California, and a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
California
The University of California, Berkeley, is a public research university and a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The details
Student-athletes qualify for the honor roll by maintaining a minimum 3.0 grade point average while participating in a varsity-level sport. This year marks the seventh consecutive season in which at least 5,500 athletes have met the conference's criteria for academic excellence.
Timeline
The 2025-26 academic year served as the evaluation period for all honored student-athletes.
Culture Shift
This record of high academic achievement aligns with the broader institutional commitment to the NCAA Academic Progress Rate requirements for university athletics programs. It reinforces a shift in collegiate sports culture that prioritizes degree completion alongside athletic performance.
This program sets an internal standard for student-athletes that may influence recruitment criteria and academic support expectations at member institutions. Prospective students can evaluate these trends to understand the academic culture within these specific university athletic departments.
The takeaway
The sustained high number of honorees demonstrates that balancing elite sports with academic rigor remains a standard expectation in major conferences. Students looking to participate in college athletics should prioritize maintaining high GPAs early in their academic careers to meet these benchmarks.
Further reading
For context on how academic standards shape institutional selection, visit the College Applications section.
More information
View the complete list of honorees in the 2025-26 ACC Academic Honor Roll.
Live Poll
Should college student-athletes be required to maintain a high grade point average to participate in sports?
