A total of six University of Alabama athletics programs, including the men’s basketball team, led the Southeastern Conference in Graduation Success Rate, also known as GSR, figures released recently by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
With an overall Graduation Success Rate of 91 this year, Alabama ranks third among SEC schools. The average GSR for all NCAA Division I student-athletes is 89.
Alabama’s score continues to far exceed the standards for completion of undergraduate studies nationally per the NCAA. This year’s GSR spans the period covering student-athletes who attended the University during 2009-12.
The men’s basketball team remained at a perfect 100 while the Alabama football team moved up to 85, which ranks third in the SEC, marking the 11th year in a row that the Tide football squad has ranked in the top four in the SEC by GSR.
“We are very proud that Crimson Tide athletics continues to be a leader when it comes to the GSR. It is a testament to the emphasis our student-athletes, faculty, coaches and the athletics department as a whole put on academics at The University of Alabama.” —Greg Byrne, UA Athletics director
In addition to men’s basketball, Alabama also led the SEC with perfect GSR scores of 100 in men’s golf, women’s golf, gymnastics, women’s swimming and diving, and women’s tennis. Alabama was fourth among SEC schools in number of teams scoring a perfect 100.
Overall, 12 Alabama programs recorded a GSR score of 90 or better. In addition to the sports that had perfect scores of 100, six others posted scores of 90 or better: soccer (96), softball (94), volleyball (92), baseball (91), women’s basketball (91) and men’s swimming and diving (91).
The GSR measures graduation rates at Division I institutions and includes those transferring into the institutions. The GSR also allows institutions to subtract student-athletes who leave their institutions prior to graduation, as long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained.
The NCAA’s GSR and the Academic Success Rate, or ASR, were developed in response to a mandate by college and university presidents for graduation data that more accurately reflects the mobility among today’s college students. Both rates improve on the federally mandated graduation rate by including students omitted from the federal calculation.
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