Oct. 26, 2011

STANFORD, Calif. -- - A total of 19 Stanford athletics programs compiled graduation rates of 100 percent, and none received graduation rates lower than 80 percent, according to the Graduation Success Rate report which was released by the NCAA on Tuesday.

Only three Football Bowl Subdivision programs (formerly NCAA Division I) had a higher percentage of GSR scores than Stanford with its .653 (17-26) rating.

In addition, Stanford led all FBS institutions with 11 perfect scores in the federal graduation rate analysis.

The nine men's programs to receive perfect GSR scores included baseball, fencing, golf, gymnastics, tennis, track (outdoor and indoor), volleyball and water polo, while perfect ratings were also achieved in 10 women's programs, including rowing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, softball, soccer, synchronized swimming, volleyball, water polo and swimming & diving.

Stanford's football program received a GSR of 87, which was the highest mark in the Pac-12 Conference and one that ranked seventh nationally among Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions. The women's basketball program's GSR rating of 93 was the third-highest in the country among Division I-A football schools, while men's basketball program compiled the nation's 12th-best rating (80).

Other programs to receive GSR scores of 90 or higher were men's swimming (93), women's lacrosse (93), women's indoor/outdoor track and field (92) and wrestling (91).

The GSR was created six years ago by the NCAA as part of its academic reform initiative to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. Unlike the Federal Graduation Rate, the GSR accounts for students who leave an institution while academically eligible as well as adding midyear enrollees to the cohort. The GSR is calculated and reported individually for each NCAA-sponsored sport. Only the Federal Graduation Rates are calculated for both the student population at-large as well as the student-athlete population.

Both the GSR and Federal Graduation Rates are based upon classes from 2001-04 and show the percentage of student-athletes earning a degree within six years. The NCAA developed the GSR to account for transfer student-athletes, midyear enrollees and others not tracked by the federal graduation rate. Stanford student-athletes have a Federal Graduation four-class average of 95 percent.

The GSR should not be confused with the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate, which uses a series of formulas related to student-athletes retention and eligibility to measure the academic performance of all participants who receive grant-in-aid on every team at every NCAA Division I college and university.