TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama men’s basketball program, along with six other Crimson Tide programs, led the Southeastern Conference in Graduation Success Rate figures released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tuesday.
Overall, Alabama’s GSR was 89 this year, ranking in the top three in the SEC along with Vanderbilt (93) and South Carolina (91).
The Tide’s overall score ranks in the top third nationally. Alabama’s score once again far exceeds the acceptable standards for completion of undergraduate studies nationally per the NCAA. The GSR spans the period covering student-athletes who attended the University during 2006-09.
The men’s basketball team remained at a perfect 100 while the Alabama football team posted an 80, which ranks fourth in the SEC, marking the eighth year in a row that the Tide football squad has ranked in the top four in the SEC by GSR.
“I am very proud that we continue to stand among the Southeastern Conference leaders in the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate,” said UA Director of Athletics Bill Battle. “Our consistently strong showing in this vital metric speaks directly to the importance we place on academic success.”
The Tide was first, or tied for first, in seven different sports. In addition to men’s basketball, Alabama also led the SEC with perfect GSR scores of 100 in men’s golf, women’s golf, gymnastics, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and men’s swimming & diving.
In addition to the sports that posted perfect scores of 100, five others posted scores above 90 – softball (94), soccer (93), women’s track & field (93), women’s swimming & diving (92) and volleyball (91).
Overall, 12 Alabama programs recorded a GSR score of 90 or better, and 14 posted marks above 85. The average GSR for student-athletes is 84 for all of NCAA Division I.
“Graduating our student-athletes is one of the cornerstones of our mission,” Battle said. “I am proud of the effort that students, coaches and staff put into our pursuit of academic excellence and the ultimate goal of a college education.”
The GSR measures graduation rates at Division I institutions and includes those transferring into the institutions. The GSR also allows institutions to subtract student-athletes who leave their institutions prior to graduation, as long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained.
The NCAA’s GSR and the Academic Success Rate were developed in response to a mandate by college and university presidents for graduation data that more accurately reflects the mobility among today’s college students. Both rates improve on the federally mandated graduation rate by including students who were omitted from the federal calculation.
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