INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA Graduation Success Rate report on Division I student-athletes released today places the University of Dayton in familiar territory – among the nation’s best in graduating its student-athletes.  UD’s 94 GSR in this year’s report places the University tied for 27th in the nation and tied for second in the Atlantic 10.  

The Flyer men’s and women’s basketball teams both have 100 GSR scores.  UD’s men’s team is one of only three A-10 men’s basketball teams to have a perfect score. The women’s basketball team is one of seven in the A-10 to receive a perfect mark.

Dayton is one of just four institutions whose men’s and women’s basketball programs have perfect GSR numbers and both won at least 20 games in each of the last two seasons.  That exclusive club’s membership consists of Dayton, Duke, Notre Dame and Princeton.

Additionally, Dayton and Creighton had the highest GSR (94) of any school to have four teams as automatic qualifiers into the NCAA Tournament during the 2011-12 school year.

Six of Dayton’s teams – men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s rowing, women’s soccer and women’s tennis have a perfect 100 GSR in this year’s report.  The Atlantic 10 ranked second among all Division I conferences in overall GSR score.

Two more Flyer teams are second or third in their respective conferences.  Football is second in the Pioneer Football League, and softball is third in the A-10.  

Nationally, Dartmouth is the only school with a 100 GSR for all of its sports programs.  Brown, Bucknell and Notre Dame are second at 99.  Colgate, Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Holy Cross and Yale tie for fifth with an overall score of 98. Dayton is tied for 27th with Boston University, Creighton, Furman, George Washington, Georgetown, Pepperdine, Richmond, Valparaiso and Villanova with a 94 score.

“It might be tempting for people to look at this as ‘business as usual’ for the University of Dayton, but that would short-change how important our student-athletes’ academic success is to everyone at the University of Dayton,” Tim Wabler, UD Vice President and Director of Athletics said.  “It speaks to the type of young person we attract to the University, as well as the commitment to success in and out of the classroom by our student-athletes, our coaches and our academic support team.”

The overall GSR for the 2005 entering class is seven points higher than the 1995 entering class.

The GSR for the last four graduating classes of all Division I student-athletes (2002-2005) remains at 80 percent, still an all-time high for the NCAA.

The NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate includes transfer students and student-athletes who leave in good academic standing, unlike the federal graduation rate, which does not count transfers. The GSR and federal rate calculations measure graduation over six years from first-time college enrollment.