Not all of accolades gathered by Alabama gymnasts come during competition when the bright lights are focused on them. In fact, the accomplishments the Crimson Tide coaching staff are most proud of come in the classrooms and study sessions.

Always a source of pride, Alabama gymnastics' academic excellence has hit an impressive stride over the last several years providing some truly awe inspiring results.

For the last four seasons, an average of 12 Crimson Tide gymnasts per year have earned Academic All-Southeastern Conference honors. That's nine in 1999, 12 in 2000 and 2001 and 15 last season. The Tide's 15 honorees in 2002 stands as a league record for a single year.

On a national level, Alabama had 13 gymnasts earn Scholastic All-American honors during its 2002 NCAA Championship run. Add that total, a program best, to the nine in 2001 and 2000 and the 10 in 1999 and Alabama has averaged over 10 honors a year for the last four seasons. Over the last three seasons, Alabama has ranked in the top five nationally among all gymnastics programs in team grade point average. Last season the Tide checked in at No. 3 with a 3.6 GPA.

The Tide's success is in direct correlation to the level of importance the coaching staff puts on academics. Priority one at Alabama is a tremendous education that will hold a gymnast in good stead after their Tide tenure is over.

"From the day we begin recruiting an athlete to the day they walk across the stage at graduation, we stress academics as the most important aspect of their experience here at Alabama," coach Sarah Patterson says. "I want our ladies to win national championships and I want them to break records, but first and foremost I want them to do the best they can in the classroom."

While the numbers produced over the last few years are incredible, they fit in with a pattern of scholastic excellence that goes back to Sarah and David Patterson's first days at the Capstone. Alabama has produced eight NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners and seven Southeastern Conference Scholarship recipients since 1983. Those figures lead the nation and the conference respectively.

Two Alabama gymnasts have been named the SEC's Scholar Athlete of the Year, an honor bestowed on the top senior student-athlete in the conference, regardless of sport. The award carries with it the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholarship, a $10,000 grant that can be applied to the graduate program of the recipient's choice.

Since Scholastic All-American honors came into being in 1991, Alabama gymnasts have received the award 77 times. Alabama leads the Southeastern Conference with 123 Academic All-SEC honors, more than two dozen better than any other team.

Tide gymnasts have placed their names on national honor societies more than 120 times over the last 25 years, including three with membership in Phi Beta Kappa.

While the Crimson Tide has built a sparkling reputation in the academic arena, that reputation is not just a case of letting a squad of naturally academically talented athletes loose in the classroom.

"Many of our athletes are what I would consider average college students, and yet they continue to perform at above average levels, and that is what I am most proud of," Sarah Patterson said. "There's a misconception, I think, that all these young ladies have a great deal of natural ability. They're all bright young women, but I attribute our success to the fact that they come in here knowing that school comes first. They know we feel that way, and they take the support system, which is second to none, and they surround themselves with it and work within that system. That's why we do so well. I think if the same student came in here and worked the same amount of time, but didn't use the support system, I don't think their grades would be as good."

Some of Alabama's greatest success stories involve student-athletes that came in as at-risk students. Through a combination of their own hard work, unflagging support from the coaching staff and the resources Alabama put at their disposal, they were able to graduate. They then went on to careers that might not have been possible without the education they received at the Capstone.

Sarah Patterson's program is not the only Tide entity that considers academics its main concern. Priority one on Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore's construction agenda is to make improvements to the Tide's already outstanding academic center.

Once a prospective student-athlete signs, it is up to her how successful she is academically. But because of Alabama's Center of Athletic Student Services and the commitment of its coaches, every opportunity for success is there for the taking.

During the first year, freshmen are required to attend a nightly study hall. After that first year, attendance is based on the individual's GPA and study needs. Every member of the gymnastics team utilizes the study hall and tutorial staff throughout their career.

Between the Pattersons, CASS and individual initiative of the student-athletes, the gymnastics program is assured of capturing more perfect 10s in the gym and perfect 4.0s in the classroom.