Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1066835
n o r t h w e s t e r n f o o t b a l l • 2 0 1 8 h o l i d a y b o w l d i g i t a l p r o g r a m 9 COMBE FAMILY VICE PRESIDENT FOR ATHLETICS AND RECREATION JIM PHILLIPS Over the course of a decade of leadership by Combe Fam- ily Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Jim Phillips, Northwestern student-athletes have achieved historic success in the classroom, in the community and in com- petition. Academically, Wildcats have set a national standard, and raised the bar year-after-year. The group of nearly 500 student-athletes across 19 varsity teams combined to post a record GPA of 3.33 in 2017-18, and NU has sur- passed 200 Academic All-Big Ten honorees each of the last eight years, and. Northwestern scored a 98 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the latest data released by the NCAA, the top score among FBS. The Wildcats have scored 96 percent-or-higher overall in every year that GSR data has been released, finishing in the Top-4 among FBS athletic departments all 13 years. Northwestern football's 99-per- cent GSR this year is the top score among all FBS institu- tions, and leads the Big Ten by 14 points. In the community, Northwestern student-athletes have exceeded more than 5,500 hours of service in each of the last eight years, with 100 percent participation by the group of more than 500 young men in women in support of more than 100 community organizations in Evanston and across Chicagoland. Athletically, Wildcats lacrosse, softball, golf, fencing, soc- cer, tennis, field hockey, swimming, diving and wrestling all have won team or individual conference or national championships in the last ten years. Nine of Northwest- ern's 15 all-time bowl appearances have been earned since 2008, and three 10-win seasons have captivated the Wildcats community over the last six years. Dan & Susan Jones Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald has built a pro- gram that not only posts the best academic performance in major college football, but won the 2018 Big Ten West title and has seen multiple players selected in each of the last three NFL Drafts. All of this has transpired as the department has under- gone a facilities transformation alongside Lake Michigan on Chicago's north shore. Walter Athletics Center, Ryan Fieldhouse, Wilson Field, the new Welsh-Ryan Arena, Martin Stadium, Hutcheson Field and Miller Park all de- buted in the last five years.