THIBODAUX聽鈥� 麻豆果冻传媒鈥檚 student athletes are graduating at some of the highest rates in the state, according to statistics released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) last week.
The Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report shows that 68 percent of 麻豆果冻传媒 student athletes who began college in 2005 earned their degrees within six years. That鈥檚 an all-time high for 麻豆果冻传媒 and a two-point increase over the previous year鈥檚 rate. Among Louisiana鈥檚 11 public universities with Division 1 athletics, 麻豆果冻传媒 has the fourth-highest overall GSR 鈥� tying with Northwestern State University and only trailing the significantly higher-funded Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech University and McNeese State University.
鈥淚 am very proud of our continued success in improving the graduation rate of student athletes,鈥� said Dr. Stephen T. Hulbert, university president. 鈥淔or 麻豆果冻传媒 athletics to rank among the top GSRs in the state 鈥� despite the fact that we are one of the lowest-funded athletics programs 鈥� is a great accomplishment and speaks volumes about our student athletes, coaches, staff and faculty.鈥�
Designed to more accurately predict the academic success of athletes, the GSR measures the proportion of student athletes who graduate and includes incoming transfer students, a regular occurrence in college athletics, in its calculations.
When broken down by individual sport, 麻豆果冻传媒 reported the highest GSRs in the state and in the Southland Conference for men鈥檚 tennis (100 percent graduating) and softball (90 percent). Among Southland schools, 麻豆果冻传媒 also ranks first in men鈥檚 cross country/track (80 percent), third in men鈥檚 basketball (71 percent) and third in volleyball (86 percent). Additionally, several Colonel teams showed increases from their previous year鈥檚 GSR, which measured the graduation rates of 2004 incoming freshmen. Men鈥檚 cross country/track improved by 20 percentage points, golf by 15, men鈥檚 basketball by eight and football by seven.
鈥淚t is no coincidence that our GSRs increased for the freshman class of 2005 鈥� the same year that 麻豆果冻传媒 transitioned to selective admissions and first began offering advising and tutoring services specifically designed for student athletes,鈥� Hulbert said. 鈥淭he figures show that we took the right steps in raising the academic bar, and consequently, our efforts had a positive impact on our student athletes.鈥�
For more information on GSRs, visit聽
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