Nov. 18, 2009

Nineteen of 22 athletics programs at the University of Notre Dame compiled graduation rates of 100 percent, and none were below 93 percent, according to the fifth year of Graduation Success Rate measurements developed by the NCAA and released today.

None of the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-A) programs in the country had a higher percentage of 100 GSR scores than did Notre Dame with its .863 figure (19 of 22). This marked the fourth time in the five years of the survey that Notre Dame has ranked number one in percentage of teams with 100 scores.

Here are the top institutions in that category (these are the only 11 institutions with 50 or more percent of their sports registering 100 marks):

NCAA figures released today showed that all 11 Irish women’s programs posted a GSR of 100 percent — basketball, cross country/track, fencing, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming/diving, tennis and volleyball.

Among Notre Dame’s men’s sports, baseball, basketball, cross country/track, fencing, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming/diving achieved 100 percent GSR scores. Ice hockey scored 96 percent, football scored 96 percent, and tennis was at 93.

Overall, that’s the exact same number of perfect scores as a year ago (also 19 of 22 sports) for the Irish programs, after Notre Dame recorded 18 100 percent GSR scores (of 22) in 2007.

In football, among the FBS programs, Notre Dame and Duke shared the top score at 96, the Naval Academy was at 93, Northwestern 92, and Boston College and Vanderbilt both at 91.

In 2005, among the 119 NCAA Division I-A football-playing institutions, Notre Dame had the highest percentage of its sports with 100 percent scores, with a .800 figure (16 of 20). The 2006 data put Notre Dame’s percentage at .773 (17 of 22), to rank second behind the U.S. Naval Academy. The 2007 data put Notre Dame’s percentage at .818 (18 of 22), which again ranked number one.

The GSR data show the percentage of student-athletes earning a degree within six years. The NCAA developed the GSR five years ago to account for transfer student-athletes and others not tracked by the federal graduation rate. The GSR captures about 37 percent more students than the federal rate, resulting in a more accurate assessment of the academic success of student-athletes. However, the federal rate provides the only method by which student-athletes can be compared with the general student body. College and university presidents asked the NCAA to develop a new methodology that takes into account the mobility among students in today’s higher education environment. Research indicates that approximately 60 percent of all new bachelor’s degree recipients are attending more than one undergraduate institution during their collegiate careers.

The 2009 national GSR (four-class average) for Division I is a record-high 79 percent, up from 78 a year ago. The 2009 GSR numbers are based on entering classes from 1999 to 2002. The 2008 GSR numbers are based on entering classes from 1998 to 2001, the ’07 data on classes from 1997 to 2000, the ’06 data on classes from 1996 to 1999 – and the ’05 first-year GSR data was based upon the classes entering from 1995 to 1998.

The GSR should not be confused with another fairly recent NCAA initiative, the Academic Progress Rate, which uses a series of formulas related to student-athlete retention and eligibility to measure the academic performance of all participants who receive a grant-in-aid on every team at every NCAA Division I college and university.

In addition to the GSR, the NCAA continues to compile data and release results based upon the federally mandated methodology.

Irish Athletes Again Rank Number One
In 2009 NCAA GSR Comparisons

University of Notre Dame athletic programs again rank among the best in the country in graduation rates, based on Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures released today by the NCAA – including first-place ratings in the sports of football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and ice hockey.

Among the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision institutions, Notre Dame had the highest percentage of its sports with 100 percent scores (for the fourth time in five years), with a .863 figure (19 of 22).

In football, Notre Dame achieved a 96 GSR rating, tying Duke for the highest figure among FBS schools.

Here are the FBS institutions with scores of 80 or higher in that category:

Score Institution
96 Notre Dame, Duke
93 U.S. Naval Academy
92 Northwestern
91 Boston College, Vanderbilt
89 Stanford
87 U.S. Air Force Academy
86 U.S. Military Academy
85 Miami (Ohio), Penn State
84 Rice, Southern Mississippi
83 Troy
82 Connecticut
81 Rutgers, Wake Forest
80 North Carolina

In men’s basketball, Notre Dame achieved a perfect 100 GSR rating, with only Bowling Green, BYU, Marshall, Utah State, Wake Forest and Western Kentucky also reaching the top slot.

Here are the FBS institutions with scores of 80 or higher in that category:

Score Institution
100 Bowling Green, BYU, Marshall, Notre Dame, Utah State, Wake Forest, Western Kentucky
98 U.S. Military Academy
92 Duke, Northwestern
90 U.S. Air Force Academy
88 Buffalo
86 Central Michigan
85 Alabama, Ohio University, Vanderbilt
84 U.S. Naval Academy
83 Nebraska, Rice
82 UCLA, Oklahoma State, SMU, Troy
80 East Carolina, Florida State, Illinois, TCU

In women’s basketball, Notre Dame also achieved a 100 GSR rating, as one of 29 Division I-A football-playing institutions with a perfect score.

Here are the FBS institutions with scores of 90 or higher in that category:

Score Institution
100 Boise State, Boston College, Bowling Green, BYU, Clemson, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kent State, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon State, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Toledo, Tulane, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Western Kentucky
98 U.S. Military Academy
97 U.S. Naval Academy
96 Texas
94 Ball State
93 Colorado State, Memphis, Missouri, Nevada, Rice, Wyoming
92 Akron, California, UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State, New Mexico, Oregon, Pittsburgh
91 Arizona State, Illinois, Indiana, Washington State, Western Michigan
90 Iowa State, Penn State

In hockey, Notre Dame achieved a 96 GSR rating, to lead all Division I-A football-playing institutions.

Here are the FBS institutions with scores of 65 or higher in that category:

Score Institution
96 Notre Dame
92 U.S. Air Force Academy
89 U.S. Military Academy
88 Bowling Green
87 Boston College
81 Connecticut
77 Western Michigan
75 Michigan
72 Michigan State
70 Miami (Ohio)
68 Wisconsin
65 Ohio State

The national GSR for 2008 for the FBS (Division I-A) is 79 percent. Only team rates were released. The fourth-year GSR data is based upon the entering classes from 1999 to 2002.

In addition to men’s and women’s basketball, other Notre Dame programs recording 100 GSR scores were baseball, men’s cross country/track, women’s cross country/track, men’s fencing, women’s fencing, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, women’s tennis and volleyball. Men’s tennis received a 93.

Nine Irish Athletic Programs Achieve 100 Federal Graduation Rate Scores

In federal graduation rates released today by the NCAA, the University of Notre Dame ranked among the national leaders in programs producing perfect scores.

Nine Notre Dame sports produced 100 scores in the federal ratings – and only Stanford (with 13) had more programs with perfect scores among NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision institutions. Stanford had 27 sports rated, compared to 22 for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame produced perfect 100s in men’s tennis, men’s lacrosse, men’s swimming, women’s cross country/track, women’s rowing, women’s fencing, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse and women’s tennis. Other highly-rated Irish programs included a 95 for men’s soccer, 94 for men’s cross country/track, 92 for hockey and volleyball and 91 for women’s swimming.

Here’s a listing of the NCAA FBS institutions that produced three or more 100 scores in the federal listings:

13 – Stanford (men’s fencing, men’s golf, men’s gymnastics, men’s tennis, men’s volleyball, men’s water polo, women’s rowing, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s soccer, softball, women’s swimming, women’s water polo)
9 – Notre Dame (men’s tennis, men’s lacrosse, men’s swimming, women’s cross country/track, women’s rowing, women’s fencing, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse and women’s tennis
7 – Duke (men’s cross country/track, men’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s cross country/track, field hockey, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse)
7 – Northwestern (men’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s basketball, women’s fencing, softball, women’s tennis, women’s volleyball)
5 – Penn State (men’s gymnastics, women’s cross country/track, women’s fencing, field hockey, women’s soccer)
5 – Virginia (men’s tennis, women’s cross country/track, women’s lacrosse, women’s tennis, women’s volleyball)
4 – Boston College (baseball, women’s cross country/track, women’s lacrosse, women’s tennis)
4 – Bowling Green (women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s tennis, women’s volleyball)
4 – Michigan (field hockey, women’s golf, softball, women’s tennis)
4 – Nevada (men’s tennis, women’s skiing, softball, women’s tennis)
3 – Connecticut (men’s tennis, women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis)
3 – Iowa State (women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s swimming)
3 – Miami, Fla. (men’s cross country/track, men’s swimming, women’s golf)
3 – North Carolina (women’s rowing, women’s gymnastics, women’s swimming)
3 – Wake Forest (men’s golf, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball)