The typical representation of a letterman jacket in movies and tv shows is shown worn by athletes, but students don’t have to play sports to letter. However, they do have to hurry if they want to apply for an academic letter as Friday is the last day applications are available in the registrar’s office.

“I think that there is a stigma around having an academic letter patch instead of an athletic one, but not as big as you would think,” senior AcDec team member Sid Sharma said. “Because Liberty is such an academic school, I think people are able to recognize the effort, athletic or academic, that earned the letterman.”

Academic Lettering in FISD is nothing new, as students who meet the requirements have lettered for years. In order to letter, a student must earn a cumulative 4.5 GPA or higher for a minimum of five semesters of high school coursework, with at least one being in Frisco ISD.

Students in Academic Decathlon and other academic UIL teams are also eligible if a student has won a medal or ribbon either individually or on a team at the District Academic UIL Competition or Academic Decathlon competition. Students who have not medaled but have competed at the district competition for a minimum of two years may also apply.

“Academic letter is only personal achievement and is not based on competition,” Sharma said. “That said, I had to put in a lot of effort to achieve these patches.”