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Graduation Rates For NCAA Athletes

How Are Athletes Doing in the Classroom?

The Graduation Rates For NCAA Athletes infographic highlights some interesting points about how college student-athletes perform in the classroom. In some instances college athletes actually perform better than the student body in general; in others they lag far behind. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Good Information for Parents

One piece of information that is relevant to the student-athlete and his parents is the fact that student-athletes are often graduating at a higher rate than non-athletes.  Why is this?  The student-athlete can be an extremely motivated student.  It also is instructive to understand that student athletes often have access to incredible support services, including academic tutoring.

Revenue Athletes Need to Perform Better in the Classroom

What else can we learn from this infographic?  While it is generally understood that revenue sports like football and men’s basketball tend to have a higher proportion of student-athletes who struggle academically, it is less well-known that, in general, D1AA and DII athletes have the highest graduation rates.

What is Trending

A trend that is encouraging for female college athletes–in this case those in the ACC–is that when there is a lower graduation rate it is just sixteen percent lower than the general student population.  Male athletes, on the other hand, graduated forty percent less than their non-athletic peers.

Athletes Outside DI Tend to do Better in College

Perhaps DII athletes, with their superior graduation rates, need to be studied further.  Is there something that sets them apart from the rest of the college sports world?  Does DII generally do a better job balancing athletics and academics than “big time” sports programs?

And, if this is the case (and it appears that it is) what steps should be taken to ensure that D1 sports–in particular the revenue sports–get in line and do a better job of recruiting and cultivating well-rounded student-athletes?

NCAA Graduation reform package.

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