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INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA Graduation Success Rate report on Division I student-athletes released today places the University of Dayton in familiar territory – among the top 20 schools in graduating its student-athletes. Dayton's GSR of 96 in this year's report ranks the University 16th in the nation and first in the Atlantic 10.
Division I student-athletes across the country who entered college in 2006 earned their degrees at a rate of 82 percent - the highest ever.
This year's score of 96 is the department's highest rate since the inception of the GSR reporting system and is the highest rating of any current member of the Atlantic 10. Of the nine years the GSR has been compiled, the Flyers have never rated below a 94 and have consistently ranked in the top 27 or better nationally.
"We're proud to say that our 96 GSR score is as good as we have ever done, and prouder still that our scores in the nine years the NCAA has compiled them have been 94, 95 or 96," Tim Wabler, Dayton Vice President and Director of Athletics said. "But frankly, it's not something our student-athletes spend a lot of time thinking about. They know that the culture put in place by the University -- from our faculty, to our academic support team, to our coaches -- is one where our student-athletes are expected to do their best in the classroom. They are focused on competing at the highest level, and working toward winning championships."
The Flyer men's and women's basketball teams both posted 100 GSR scores, two of seven UD teams with a perfect score. Dayton is one of 23 schools, and only A-10 member, who had both basketball teams rated with a perfect 100 GSR. UD's five other perfect scorers are men's golf, women's golf, women's soccer, women's rowing and women's tennis while 13 of Dayton's 14 teams posted Graduation Success Rates above the national average.
Women's basketball has posted a perfect GSR of 100 over the past four years, one of seven in the nation to do so and also qualify for the NCAA Tournament each of those four years. That exclusive group includes Dayton, Duke, Iowa State, Notre Dame, St. John's, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
The most recent national one-year graduation figures are bolstered by football student-athletes competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision, who earned a 71 percent Graduation Success Rate, and African-American men's basketball players, who graduated at a 68 percent rate – the highest ever for those groups. Each group gained one percentage point over the class that entered college in 2005.
"More student-athletes than ever before are earning their college degrees, and we are gratified to see our reform efforts impact the lives of those we serve," NCAA President Mark Emmert said. "We have even higher expectations for the future, but we are proud of the progress we have made."
Measured also as a four-year metric, the Graduation Success Rate for the most recent four graduating classes of all Division I student-athletes (entering college between 2003-2006) climbed to 81 percent. That figure is an all-time high for the NCAA, Emmert noted. Most demographic groups posted similar year-to-year rates, with the exception of African-American females who increased their GSR by two percentage points to 78 percent.
Since the NCAA first began tracking the Graduation Success Rate with student-athletes who entered college in 1995, the rate has increased 8 percentage points. The rate for African-American student-athletes has gained 11 percentage points.
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.
The federal graduation rate, while less inclusive than the GSR, provides the only measure of historic academic comparison between student-athletes and the general student body. By this standard, student-athletes consistently out-perform nearly all their peers in the student body.
