Who are some of the highly accomplished athletes known to have outstanding academic records?

I suppose that "highly accomplished" is subjective since merely playing at the highest level of any sport is a huge accomplishment in and of itself, that said, here are some notable ones:

• Ryan Fitzpatrick (American Football)- QB for the Buffalo Bills. Though not a "star" he did sign a contract extension worth $59MM back in October of last year. Last season was also his best season to date. He makes this list simply because he played QB at Harvard (to state the obvious: it's very unlikely that you'll play in the NFL if you go to Harvard). He scored the second highest Wonderlic Test score of all time (beaten only by the perfect score that Pat McInally, another former Harvard player, received).
• Jeremy Lin (Basketball) - Quora has certainly followed him well, but again, like Ryan Fitzpatrick, it's hard to argue unlikelihood of playing in your sport's top professional league when you attend Harvard (which, by the way, doesn't offer any athletic scholarships). Lin maintained a 3.1 GPA and received a degree in Economics--by anyone's standards, that would be considered an academic success.
• Craig Breslow (Baseball)- While not considered a "superstar", he's been playing MLB baseball for the last 7 years which is quite the accomplishment. He received a bachelor's degree in molecular biochemistry and biophysics from Yale, graduating with a 3.5 GPA. Additionally, he was accepted into NYU's medical school after scoring a 34 on the MCAT (the average med school applicant scores a 28). Also, he speaks Spanish.
• Matt Birk (American Football)- 6-time Pro-Bowl selected Center that currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens. Scored a 34 on the ACT, graduated from Harvard with a degree in Economics. Offered a Wall Street job post-college, but opted to play football instead--another decision that shows how smart he is. 
• Shane Battier (Basketball) - He's managed to stay in the league for 10+ years. He received a degree in religion from Duke (graduating with a 3.5 GPA). He speaks German fluently, and claims that his off-court interests include "finance and sabermetrics."
• Pau Gasol (Basketball) - Left his studies at the University of Barcelona Medical School--considered the best university in Spain--to play basketball. Tri-lingual (English, Spanish, and Catalán). 
• Vitali Klitschko & Wladimir Klitschko (Boxing) - Both world-champion boxers. They're combined boxing records are 101 wins (90 TKOs) and 5 defeats. Vitali holds a PhD in Sports Science and is currently a leader in the UDAR political party in Ukraine; Wladimir also received a PhD in Sports Science from the University of Kiev. He also is fluent in four languages: Ukranian, Russian, German, and English. Not too shabby for a couple of guys that made a living getting punched in the face.

Jordan Woods

Written May 8, 2012