When DePaul University officials broke ground on the Wintrust Arena in 2015, Deloitte Distinguished Professor of Accounting & MIS John McEnroe was there, shovel in hand. McEnroe, a 28-year accounting professor and DePaul’s Big East Conference faculty athletic representative, was honored to take part in the ceremony that marked the beginning of construction for DePaul’s new Chicago home for Blue Demons Basketball. This fall, he was excited to return to the finished arena for its grand opening.
“This new arena is historic for DePaul,” says McEnroe. “It will have a great impact on the school with recruiting and for the overall athletics program, and it also will bring the school together as a community supporting our athletes in downtown Chicago.”
Professor John McEnroe (center, red tie) serves as the faculty athletic representative to the BIG EAST Conference and NCAA
McEnroe’s primary responsibility as the faculty athletic representative for DePaul is to promote the academic welfare of student athletes by advocating that they have the time and resources necessary to achieve the same level of academic success throughout their college experience as the overall student population. He also serves on the University Athletic Board and represents DePaul in the NCAA and BIG EAST Conference.
“It truly is a great honor to serve as the faculty athletic representative,” says McEnroe. “I became the faculty athletic representative because I wanted faculty to be aware of the academic accomplishments of our athletes. Although our students have always demonstrated academic excellence, last year’s accomplishments are arguably among the best in DePaul’s history. ”
In his most recent quarterly update shared with all faculty and staff this summer, McEnroe reported that:
- Overall grade point average (GPA) for DePaul student athletes for the 2016-17 academic year was 3.43 out of 4.0.
- A record 170 (84 percent) of student athletes were named to the Big East All-Academic Team.
- Fifty-six percent of student athletes made DePaul’s dean’s list, which requires a minimum 3.5 GPA, and five percent achieved a 4.0, the top GPA.
- All of DePaul’s student athletic teams had GPA averages above 3.0 in each quarter of the year.
- Eight teams achieved the highest GPA in the BIG EAST Conference in their respective sport, and thus earned the BIG EAST Academic Excellence Award. This was the most by any BIG EAST school (except for a tie one year with another school) for the seventh consecutive year.
- Overall, DePaul student athletes have had the highest GPA of any school in the Big East for the last eight years.
“Our student athletes make a lot of sacrifices,” says McEnroe. “They occasionally miss classes due to tournaments and do not have enough time to join student organizations. This means they need to have good time-management, leadership and project-management skills. As can be seen from the data, it is well rewarded. These academic achievements are the result of the joint efforts of our student-athletes, our administration, our staff, their coaches, our athletic department, athletic academic advising and our professors.”
McEnroe would also like to give special mention to DePaul’s former President, Father Dennis Holtschneider and Athletic Director, Jean Lenti Ponsetto, a former DePaul student-athlete herself, whose leadership underscores the belief that DePaul students competing in athletics are student athletes first rather than athletes who also happen to be students. McEnroe is also impressed with DePaul’s current President, A. Gabriel Esteban, PhD for his support of student athletes in his previous role at Seton Hall and for his stirring words on the role of the student athlete at DePaul.
As a lifelong fan of DePaul sports, having watched many of the games at the old Alumni Hall, McEnroe is excited to see student athletes achieve excellence in the classroom—and have a new home to excel on the court.
“It gives me great satisfaction to represent DePaul as the faculty athletic representative,” says McEnroe. “This new arena gives me hope for the continued success of the athletic program at DePaul and hopefully many more wins.”