Oct. 4, 2007

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Eighteen of 22 athletics programs at the University of Notre Dame compiled graduation rates of 100 percent, and none were below 90 percent, according to the third year of Graduation Success Rate measurements developed by the NCAA and released Wednesday.

None of the 120 Division I-A football-playing programs in the country had a higher percentage of 100 GSR scores than did Notre Dame with its .818 figure.

NCAA figures released yesterday showed that, among Notre Dame’s men’s sports, baseball, cross country/track, fencing, ice hockey, soccer, swimming and tennis achieved 100 percent GSR scores. Lacrosse scored 97 percent, football scored 93 percent, golf was 91 percent and basketball was 91 percent. The same seven Irish men’s programs also scored 100 percent in both the 2005 and 2006 data.

All 11 Irish women’s programs posted a GSR of 100 percent — basketball, cross country/track, fencing, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis and volleyball. That’s one more perfect score than a year ago for the Irish women, after soccer scored a 94 percent GSR in 2006.

Rowing, like men’s lacrosse, was included for the first time last year in 2006 for Notre Dame, because the University offered grants in aid during the years covered in the survey. Beyond rowing, the other nine Irish women’s programs earning 100 percent ratings in 2006 also earned 100 percent figures in 2005.

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 ranks number one.

The GSR was created two years ago by the NCAA to more accurately reflect actual graduation rates by including transfer data in the calculation. The graduation rate methodology used by the Department of Education counts all student-athletes who transfer from or leave an institution for any reason as non-graduates from their initial school, even if they leave in good academic standing.

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 2007 national GSR for Division I-A is 77 percent, the same as a year ago (and up one percent from the 76 figure in 2005).

The 2007 GSR data is based on entering classes from 1997 to 2000. The 2006 GSR data was based on entering classes from 1996 to 1999. The 2005 first-year GSR data was based upon the entering classes 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.

— ND —