NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Atlantic 10 boasts 65 teams with a perfect graduation rate according to the NCAA Graduation Success Report on Division I student-athletes released today. Dayton was second among A-10 programs with nine teams earning a perfect score and led the Conference with an average graduation rate of 97.38 percent.
George Washington had 11 teams that hold a rating of 100 percent and St. Bonaventure was third with eight. Dayton was one of five A-10 institutions to enjoy average graduation rates of 90 percent or higher in league-sponsored sports. The Flyers are followed by George Washington (94.10), Xavier (93.23), La Salle (90.40) and Fordham (90.13).
The A-10 features eight women's tennis and women's soccer programs tennis and soccer that enjoy a 100 percent graduation rate, while six men's teams in both golf and tennis have a 100 percent graduation rate. Of Dayton's 12 teams that compete in A-10 sponsored sports, nine have a 100 percent graduation rate: men's and women's cross country (indoor and outdoor), men's golf, men's and women's tennis, women's basketball, women's track and field (indoor and outdoor), and volleyball. UD men's basketball has a 91 percent graduation success rate which is tops in the Atlantic 10.
Nationwide, 79 percent of Division I freshmen student-athletes who entered college in 2002 earned their degrees, matching last year's rate. The average Graduation Success Rate for the last four graduating classes is 79 percent, one percentage point higher than last year.
Both rates are the highest ever for Division I student-athletes, said NCAA Interim President Jim Isch.
"Be assured--the NCAA's commitment to academics is as strong as it has ever been," Isch said. "Having been on three major campuses before coming to the NCAA 10 years ago, I know how critical academic success is to the future of intercollegiate athletics and for the student-athletes who participate."
Under the federal government's methodology, which does not count transfer students, Division I student-athletes who entered college in 2002 graduated at 64 percent, the highest federal rate ever and unchanged from last year. This rate is two points higher than the general student body.
Isch emphasized he was particularly pleased with the academic progress in men's basketball and baseball. The Graduation Success Rate for men's basketball is up nearly 10 points and baseball is up nearly 5 points in the eight years the NCAA has calculated the rate.
Walter Harrison, chair of the NCAA Committee on Academic Performance and president of the University of Hartford, praised the latest figures, citing increased initial-eligibility standards and the overall transformation of the academic-athletics culture on college campuses nationwide.
"Athletics directors and presidents are routinely discussing academics--more so than ever before," said Harrison. "At the ground level of academic reform on our campuses, there has been monumental change."
The calculations for the GSR and federal rate both limit time to graduation from initial college enrollment to six years.
The NCAA developed the Graduation Success Rate as part of its academic reform initiative to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the federal graduation rate. The Graduation Success Rate also accounts for midyear enrollees and is calculated for every sport.
Under the calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing transfer students who leave in good academic standing. The outgoing transfers are essentially passed to the receiving institution's Graduation Success Rate cohort. By counting incoming transfer students and midyear enrollees, the Graduation Success Rate increases the total number of student-athletes tracked for graduation by more than 37 percent. The NCAA also calculates the federal graduation rate for student-athletes. It is the only rate by which to compare student-athletes to the general student body.
The most recent Division I Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering freshmen classes from 1999-2000 through 2002-03. More than 102,000 student-athletes are included in the most recent four classes using the GSR methodology, as compared to slightly fewer than 75,000 counted in the federal rate.
This year marks the eighth year that Graduation Success Rate data have been collected. The NCAA began collecting GSR data with the entering freshman class of 1995. The latest entering class for which data are available is 2002.
