Oct. 26, 2012
University of Notre Dame athletic programs again rank as 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 seventh time in eight years), with a .863 figure (19 of 22).
In football, Notre Dame achieved a 97 GSR rating for the highest figure among FBS schools (tied with Northwestern). Here are the FBS institutions with scores of 80 or higher in the football category:
| Score | Institution |
| 97 | Notre Dame, Northwestern |
| 94 | Boston College, Miami (Fla.) |
| 93 | Rice |
| 92 | Duke |
| 91 | Penn State, Rutgers |
| 90 | Stanford |
| 88 | U.S. Military Academy |
| 87 | U.S. Naval Academy |
| 86 | Wake Forest. U.S. Air Force Academy |
| 85 | Vanderbilt |
| 84 | Miami (Ohio) |
| 83 | Northern Illinois |
| 82 | Iowa |
| 81 | Boise State, Central Florida |
| 80 | Utah State |
In men’s basketball, Notre Dame achieved a perfect 100 GSR rating, with only Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Utah State, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Western Kentucky also reaching the top slot.
Here are the FBS institutions with men’s basketball scores of 80 or higher in that category:
| Score | Institution |
| 100 | Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Notre Dame, Utah State, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Kentucky |
| 92 | BYU, Miami (Ohio), UNLV, Penn State, Rice, Vanderbilt |
| 91 | North Carolina, Stanford |
| 90 | U.S. Military Academy, Virginia Tech |
| 89 | Iowa, Michigan State |
| 88 | Boston College, South Florida |
| 86 | U.S. Air Force Academy |
| 85 | Oregon, SMU |
| 82 | Western Michigan |
| 81 | Idaho |
| 80 | Northwestern, Rutgers, TCU |
In women’s basketball, Notre Dame also achieved a 100 GSR rating, as one of 30 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 | Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa State, Iowa, Kansas State, Kentucky, LSU, Memphis, Mississippi State, Nebraska, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Tulsa, U.S. Military Academy, Utah, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest |
| 94 | Idaho, UNLV, UTEP, Utah State |
| 93 | Arizona State, Central Florida, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Kent State, Louisville, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Nevada, Rice, TCU |
| 92 | Bowling Green, Buffalo, UCLA, Connecticut, Georgia, Ole Miss, Missouri, Northwestern, SMU, Stanford, U.S. Naval Academy, Washington |
| 91 | Arkansas, Auburn, Ball State, Baylor, Michigan State |
| 90 | Colorado, Oregon State, Virginia Tech |
In hockey, Notre Dame achieved a 100 GSR rating, to rank first (tied with Bowling Green) among Division I-A football-playing institutions.
Here are the FBS institutions with scores of 65 or higher in that category:
| Score | Institution |
| 100 | Notre Dame, Bowling Green |
| 96 | U.S. Air Force Academy |
| 94 | Michigan |
| 85 | U.S. Military Academy, Boston College, Connecticut |
| 83 | Miami (Ohio) |
| 73 | Western Michigan |
| 65 | Michigan State |
The four-year GSR data is based upon the entering classes from 2002 to 2005. In addition to men’s and women’s basketball and hockey, other Notre Dame programs recording 100 GSR scores in the 2012 listings were baseball, men’s cross country/track, women’s cross country/track, men’s fencing, women’s fencing, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s softball, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball.