Fighting Illini Earn WBCA Academic Special Mention, Lead Big Ten in GPA for Third Straight Season
July 21, 2026 | Women's Basketball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Fighting Illini women's basketball has again been recognized for its work in the classroom, earning Special Mention honors in the 2025-26 Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll, the organization announced Tuesday.
The Fighting Illini posted a 3.624 combined team GPA during the 2025-26 school year, marking the highest mark among Big Ten programs for the third consecutive season. The distinction comes on the heels of a program-record 3.69 GPA during the 2026 spring semester.
"I am so proud of our continued success in the classroom and having the top GPA in the Big Ten," shared head coach Shauna Green. "We talk every day about being elite in everything that we do; we want our women to have the same competitive spirit and drive in the classroom as they do on the court. Three consecutive seasons of the top GPA in the Big Ten is a testament to our team's hard work in the classroom on a daily basis."
The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, and two-year college women's basketball teams nationwide that post the highest combined GPAs, inclusive of every student-athlete on the roster, across the full season. A team must record a combined GPA of 3.0 or better and be nominated by its WBCA-member head coach to qualify. The 2025-26 season marked the 31st year the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.
Illinois' 3.624 GPA ranked among the special mentions in Division I, falling just outside of the Top 25 at No. 34. In total, 139 Division I teams earned Top 25 or Special Mention recognition. Illinois' GPA tops all Big Ten programs recognized (11) on this year's list, including Wisconsin (39th, 3.611), UCLA (40th, 3.610), Minnesota (56th, 3.577), Michigan State (73rd, 3.523), Nebraska (101st, 3.426), Ohio State (104th, 3.406), Washington (117th, 3.331), Rutgers (131st, 3.243), USC (134th, 3.212) and Iowa (138th, 3.171).
Green has now guided Illinois to the top team GPA in the Big Ten in each of the last three seasons, in addition to the squad earning special mention recognition all four seasons since her arrival.
