NCAA schools have improved grad rates

INDIANAPOLIS — An overall increase of 1 percentage point in graduation rates might not seem significant. NCAA president Myles Brand disagrees.

For the second straight year, the NCAA released figures showing more than three-quarters of college athletes, 77 percent, graduate within six years, a slight increase over last year's 76 percent.

"One percent is good, very good," Brand said Wednesday when the NCAA released new figures on the graduation success rate. "Most importantly, if you look at all the trends in each subgroup, we're seeing equal or better trend lines."

The study included 93,000 Division I athletes, almost all on scholarship, who entered college from 1996 to 1999.

All sports, regardless of gender, had higher graduation rates under the NCAA's formula than those calculated under federal guidelines. The difference in the totals is a result of the NCAA now including transfers in graduation rates, something the federal numbers do not take into account. Brand said the distinction is that the federal study misses about 35 percent of athletes, which is why only about 68,000 athletes were included in the federal numbers.

This is the second year the NCAA has released its own data. Athletes in 35 sports — 17 men's and 18 women's — were evaluated. Graduation among male athletes increased from 69 percent to 70 percent, while female athletes remained at 86 percent for a second year.

As usual, men's basketball, football and baseball were the lowest-ranked sports.

But NCAA officials even took solace in those numbers, pointing out graduation rates in football have been steadily increasing.

"If you look at the year-by-year studies for football and men's basketball over the last five years, we're very pleased with the steady academic performance from '95 to '99," NCAA vice president Kevin Lennon said.

Brand attributed the increases to a series of academic reforms that have already been put in place and believes the trend can continue if more academic measures are approved.

His goal is to reach 80 percent overall rate in the next five years, a number Brand calls a realistic challenge.

"A move from 76 to 77 percent doesn't sound like much, but when you get these high numbers, it is of consequence," he said. "But good enough is never good enough, and I believe we can stretch it even further."