Jessica Lopez was hired as the Assistant Athletic Director for Academics & Director of Football Academics at the University of Miami in Summer 2022.
At the conclusion of Summer 2023, under Lopez’s leadership, the Miami Hurricanes Football team set a new all-time Cumulative GPA record. The Miami Hurricanes Football team boasts a 3.07 Cumulative GPA, with a record-high Summer 2023 Term GPA of 3.37, which has increased every semester since Lopez’s arrival. Success has come with 35 different degree programs represented on the team, none of which are online or physical-based programs. At the conclusion of Summer 2023, Miami Hurricanes Football boasted 62 students with a Cumulative GPA of 3.00+.
Prior to her arrival in Coral Gables, Lopez was the Associate Athletic Director for Academics at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, AZ, where under her leadership all past GPA records were broken, and NAU went on to win back-to-back Big Sky Conference President’s Cups, an award given to the school with the overall top academic and athletic achievements. These were NAU’s first President’s Cup awards since 2013-2014. NAU also earned its highest single-year APR of 990 during the 2020-2021 school year as well.
Prior to her arrival in Flagstaff, Lopez spent four years as a Learning Specialist for student athletes at the University of Oregon in the John E. Jaqua Center for Student Athletes. There she was responsible for delivering comprehensive academic support services for high-academic-risk student athletes working closely with Football, Men’s Basketball, and Baseball. She liaised closely with Directors of Player Personnel, Directors of Operations, and Compliance, for daily academic updates and needs. Through one-on-one and group sessions, Lopez was responsible for comprehensive academic support including teaching science content, exam preparation, advancing learning skills and strategies, bolstering overall academic aptitude, and developing individual learning plans with a motivational approach, among other responsibilities while monitoring grades and eligibility.
A native of Memphis, Tenn, Lopez earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Molecular Biology, earning the Dean’s Award for outstanding graduate excellence, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she authored multiple genomics publications for scientific journals and textbooks while simultaneously working as an equipment manager and Graduate Assistant for Women’s Basketball and Women’s Soccer. In September 2020, Lopez was named UAB’s Rising Star Alumni of the year by UAB’s National Alumni Association.
