Bowling Green Among National Academic Leaders in Graduating Student-Athletes

Oct. 17, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University department of intercollegiate athletics ranked among the national leaders in graduating student-athletes, according to the latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) released Tuesday (Oct. 14). Falcon student-athletes led all Mid-American Conference institutions, and no fewer than seven teams graduated 100% of their participants who enrolled between 1998 and 2001.

Bowling Green's overall Graduation Success Rate of 88% was the highest among the 12 Mid-American Conference schools, and was 10 points higher than the national average of 78%.

"We are extremely proud of our group of young men and women," said BGSU Assistant Vice President/Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Greg Christopher. "They truly epitomize the term `student-athlete.' It is a credit to them, our coaches, and our support system at BGSU that so many teams perform at such a high level in the classroom year after year."

BGSU student-athletes graduated well above the national average in 16 of the 18 sports offered by the school, including six-of-seven men's sports and 10-of-11 women's sports. Seven BG teams - including men's basketball, women's golf, gymnastics, women's soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball - posted a 100% graduation rate.

On the men's side, the basketball team's perfect 100% GSR was a highlight, as BGSU was 18 points above the second-highest MAC institution, and a full 38 points higher than the national average for that sport (62%). The Falcon hockey team was 28 points above the national average, with a score of 80%.

No fewer than six BG women's teams posted perfect GSR scores of 100%, while two others had scores above 90 percent. The Falcons' cross country/track and field squads had a GSR score of 95%, while the women's basketball Falcons had a score of 93%. Both scores were 11 points above the national averages for their respective sports.

Of the six women's programs achieving perfect 100% scores, softball ranked 14 points above the national average, while golf was 13 points higher than the national average for their respective sport. Volleyball (12), soccer (11) and tennis (11) also posted scores more than 10 points above their sport's national average. The gymnastics team performed `only' five points higher than the national average, as that sport's national average of 95% is the highest among any sport offered at BGSU.

The baseball team tied for second among MAC schools with a score of 83%, 15 points above the national average, while the men's soccer team was fourth overall, but second among conference schools who still offer the sport. The men's soccer Falcons had a GSR score of 86%.

The NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) was developed in response to college and university presidents who wanted graduation data that more accurately reflect the mobility among college students today than the federal rate historically used to track graduation. The rate improves on the federally mandated graduation rate by including students who were omitted from the federal calculation.

The GSR measures graduation rates at Division I institutions and includes students 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 2008 Graduation Success Rate data showed that close to four of every five Division I student-athletes across the country earn a degree within six years of entering school. Measuring the degree-completion rate of students entering college between 1998 and 2001, the GSR showed that 78% of all student-athletes earned their degree during that time, up one point from last year.

Nationally, both datasets (the NCAA's 2008 GSR data and the latest federal graduation rate data for all Division I athletic programs) showed the highest-ever graduation rates for athletes. The federal rate showed a success rate of 64%, up two points from last year and two points above the federal graduation rate for all students.

BGSU'S RESULTS BY SPORT

Men's Sports	Score	MAC Rank	National Avg.
Baseball	83	T-Second	68
Basketball	100	FIRST	62
Football	75	Fourth	67
Cross Country	75	Sixth	74
Golf	75	T-Sixth	79
Ice Hockey	80	Third #	52
Soccer	86	Fourth *	79

* Second among MAC schools still sponsoring men's soccer

# Hockey competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA)

Women's Sports	Score	MAC Rank	National Avg.
Basketball	93	T-Fourth	82
Cross Country/Track	95	T-Second	84
Golf	100	T-FIRST	87
Gymnastics	100	T-FIRST	95
Soccer	100	T-FIRST	89
Softball	100	T-FIRST	86
Swimming	89	Seventh	90
Tennis	100	T-FIRST	89
Volleyball	100	T-FIRST	88

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