As jaw-dropping as Travis Hunter’s season has been on the football field, his academic exploits at CU Boulder have been equally impressive.
The junior from Suwanee, Georgia, is an anthropology major carrying a 3.798 cumulative GPA. In the fall of 2023, Hunter earned a 4.0 GPA and followed that up with a spring 2024 semester GPA of 3.908, earning him first-team All-Academic Team honors. Last year, Hunter became just the second player in CU history to be a first-team All-American and a first-team Academic All-American, joining Joe Romig.
On Saturday, Hunter became the second CU Buffalo to take home the prestigious Heisman Trophy awarded to the top player in college football and is the first Academic All-American to win the Heisman since Florida quarterback Tim Tebow accomplished the feat in 2007.
“Travis Hunter has been the epitome of excellence all season, and I’m so happy to see his hard work rewarded with college football’s iconic Heisman Trophy,” said CU Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz. “While I’ve marveled at his performance on the field, playing both offense and defense, I’m equally impressed with his performance in the classroom, where he is a dedicated student and an Academic All-American. His positive presence and the obvious joy he finds in the game are a sight to behold. In everything he does, Travis is a shining example of what it means to be a Colorado Buffalo.”
Hunter’s dedication and focus that has propelled him to becoming one of the most dynamic and electrifying college football players in the country is the same dedication and focus that he’s brought to his responsibilities in the classroom, where excellence to him is equally important.
“Travis came to Colorado with a champion mindset transcending the football field to the classroom,” said LaTonya Watson, associate director of academics at the Herbst Academic Center and Travis’s academic advisor. “Along with that mindset, he set high goals and standards that continue to motivate him to be the best version of himself as he engages in his studies. The Herbst Academic Center staff is equally as proud of Travis’s academic accomplishments as his athletic accolades.”
While Hunter’s scholastic achievements are in the spotlight because of the Heisman Trophy, he is just one example of many CU student athletes who are performing at a high level in competition and academics. Last semester, CU student athletes had the highest semester GPA in school history at 3.182, while pushing the cumulative GPA to 3.244, also an all-time high. CU also had its most conference academic awards in school history last year with 178 and the highest multi-year Academic Progress Rate in CU history, a testament to how CU Athletics is preparing student athletes for success in life well beyond their days competing.
Legacy Hall, located in the UCHealth Champions Center, is where all of the trophies that have been earned by CU football players over the years, including the Heisman, are on display for posterity. A new Heisman Trophy will soon be added to that impressive collection, but Travis Hunter’s accomplishments as both a student and an athlete have created a lasting legacy that will inspire CU students and athletes for generations to come.
