Student-athletes are not only carving a niche for themselves in sports but in academics as well. A new National Collegiate Athletic Association report found student-athletes graduating at higher rates than before.
The Division I Graduation Success Rate (GSR) data released on Wednesday covers the six-year graduation rates for athletes who joined the college in 2012.
The six-year period witnessed the highest ever single-year Graduation Success Rate for student-athletes by one percentage point to 89 percent.
The GSR increase was witnessed in many other programs like Football Bowl Subdivision, which recorded an all-time high GSR of 82 percent, 3 percentage points up from the last time.
New graduation figures in Division III show that student-athletes continue to graduate at higher rates than other students at Division III schools. #whyD3 https://t.co/mkJT2hJ5nz pic.twitter.com/QlVb0TcFgU
— NCAA Research (@NCAAResearch) October 17, 2019
Female student-athletes are more likely to demonstrate academic excellence their male counterparts with no women’s sport earning a GSR below 90 percent.
“College athletes continue to meet and exceed the benchmarks set for academic achievement,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said.
“They have surpassed the original goal by nearly 10 percentage points, a phenomenal achievement that highlights the commitment these students have to succeed in all areas of life.”
Women’s basketball and Football Championship Subdivision teams also saw an improvement in their graduation rate, however, men’s and Black men’s basketball student-athletes saw a 2 and 3 percentage points drop in GSR.
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