SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Southern Conference institutions met or exceeded the Division I average in 13 of 15 sports as part of the recently released NCAA Graduation Success Rate scores.  The team scores released included data from the 1999-2002 cohorts, which allowed student-athletes six years to graduate.  Five members of the SoCon met or exceeded the Division I graduation rate average of 79 percent in every sport sponsored by the league. 

Six league schools met or exceeded the Division I average in every women's sport sponsored by the conference, while five schools met or exceeded the national average in all men's sports. 

"The latest figures validate the commitment our athletic programs have to enhancing the academic experience for their student-athletes," said Southern Conference Commission John Iamarino. "It's good to be above the Division I average scores, but this is an area that requires constant attention to achieve success."

Developed by the NCAA as part of its academic reform initiative, the GSR is used to assess the academic success of student-athletes.  Thirty-seven 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.  In total, 38 percent of the league's squads competing in the Southern Conference posted a perfect score of 100.

Of the 156 squads competing the Southern Conference, 59 (38 percent) earned a perfect score of 100 which is up from data released last year. Broken down among gender, 49 percent of the women's squads (37 of 75) earned perfect scores of 100, while 22 of 81 men's teams posted a perfect mark.

Eight of 10 SoCon teams met or exceeded the Division I average in football.  Ten of 12 member institutions topped the NCAA Division I average in men's basketball while 10 of 11 women's basketball programs beat the national benchmark.