SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Southern Conference met or exceeded the Division I average in 14 of 15 sports in the NCAA Graduation Success Rate scores released Tuesday (October 14). Scores released Tuesday use data from the 1998-2001 cohort, allowing student-athletes six years to graduate. Six members of the SoCon met or exceeded the Division I average in every women’s sport sponsored by the league, a feat equaled in men’s competition.
“The latest GSR figures underscore one of the core principles of the Southern Conference, namely working to have our students compete at a high level of athletic competition while succeeding in their academic efforts,” said John Iamarino, commissioner of the Conference. “The two do not have to be mutually exclusive.”
Developed by the NCAA as part of its academic reform initiative, the GSR is used to assess the academic success of student-athletes. Five members of the Southern Conference met or exceeded the Division I average in every league-sponsored sport. Thirty-five women’s teams and 22 men’s teams posted perfect scores of 100. Eleven of the 12 member institutions fielded multiple teams with scores of 100.
Of the 156 squads competing the Southern Conference, 57 (37 percent) earned a perfect score of 100. Broken down among gender, 47 percent of the women’s squads (35 of 75) earned perfect scores of 100, while 22 of 81 men’s teams posted a perfect score.
High Scores by Sport:
Men’s Sports
Baseball ? 100 (Davidson)
Men’s Basketball ? 100 (The Citadel, Davidson)
Men’s Cross Country & Track ? 100 (The Citadel, College of Charleston, Furman)
Football ? 97 (Wofford)
Men’s Golf ? 100 (Appalachian State, The Citadel, College of Charleston, Davidson, Furman, Wofford)
Men’s Soccer ? 100 (Davidson 100, Wofford)
Men’s Tennis ? 100 (Appalachian State, College of Charleston, Davidson, Furman, Georgia Southern, Samford, Wofford)
Wrestling ? 100 (Davidson)
Women’s Sports
Women’s Basketball ? 100 (Samford, UNCG 100)
Women’s Cross Country & Track ? 100 (The Citadel, College of Charleston, Elon, Furman, Wofford)
Women’s Golf ? 100 (The Citadel, College of Charleston, Furman, Samford, WCU, Wofford)
Women’s Soccer ? 100 (The Citadel, Elon, Furman, GSU, Wofford)
Softball ? 100 (Appalachian State, Furman)
Women’s Tennis ? 100 (Appalachian State, College of Charleston, Davidson, Elon, Furman, Georgia Souther, Samford, UNC Greensboro, Western Carolina, Wofford)
Volleyball ? 100 (The Citadel, Elon, Furman, Western Carolina, Wofford)
ABOUT THE GSR
The Graduation Success Rate was developed by the NCAA as part of its academic reform initiative to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes.
? The GSR holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the federal graduation rate. The GSR also accounts for midyear enrollees and is calculated for every sport.
? Under the GSR calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing transfer students who leave in good academic standing. These outgoing transfers are essentially passed to the receiving institution’s GSR cohort.
? By counting incoming transfer students and midyear enrollees, the GSR 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, because it is the only rate by which to compare student-athletes to the general student body.
? The most recent Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering freshmen classes in Division I from 1998-99 through 2001-02.
? There are almost 100,000 student-athletes included in the most recent four classes using the GSR methodology, as compared to just over 72,000 counted in the federal rate.
? This year marks the sixth year that GSR 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 2001.