Oct. 14, 2008

DEKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois is graduating its student-athletes at greater levels than ever before, and at a rate which continues to rank above the national average, according to the latest Graduation Success Rate reports released Tuesday by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Northern Illinois' Graduation Success Rate (GSR) rose among both male and female student-athletes for the fourth consecutive year. NIU has an overall GSR of 81 percent for the freshman classes which entered school between 1998 and 2001, with a 74 percent mark among male student-athletes and a 94 percent figure for women. The Huskie men's GSR has risen six percentage points over the last four years, from 68 to 74 percent, while the women's number went from 91 to 94 percent in the same time frame.

"Everyone associated with Northern Illinois University should be extremely pleased with these latest Graduation Success Rate numbers for our student-athletes," said NIU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeff Compher. "The fact that our numbers continue to rise and that 13 of our teams are graduating their young people at rates that rank above the national average for their sport is impressive."

The national average for all student-athletes stands at 79 percent which breaks down to a 71 percent graduation success rate for males and an 87 percent figure for females.

Northern Illinois' latest GSR report lists 13 of NIU's 15 programs (the NCAA combines women's indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country), including men's basketball (82 percent), football (73 percent) and women's basketball (85 percent) with a Graduation Success Rate above the national average for their sport. Men's basketball's GSR of 82 percent was a full 20 percentage points above the Division I national average while the football team came in with a 73 percent GSR, seven points higher than the football GSR among NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools.

Softball, women's tennis and women's gymnastics led the way among NIU squads as each achieved a 100 percent number. Women's soccer (94 percent), volleyball (92 percent), men's soccer (92 percent) and women's track and field/cross country were the other teams to hit the 90 percent GSR mark. No NIU team had a GSR below 68 percent.

"The GSR, along with our Academic Progress Rate numbers and our record of six consecutive semesters with a departmental grade point average above 3.0, shows that academically, our student-athletes, our coaches and our academic support staff are getting the job done," Compher said.

The NCAA developed the GSR to more accurately assess long-term student-athlete academic success. The GSR differs from the federally-mandated graduation rate in that it holds institutions accountable for transfer students, accounts for mid-year enrollees and is calculated for every sport. Data show the GSR includes almost 100,000 student-athletes in the most recent four classes, compared to just over 72,000 counted in the federal graduation rate. The NCAA continues to provide the federal rate, though, since there is no comparable rate to the GSR for the general student body.

Nationally, Division I student-athletes are graduating at the highest rates ever, according to the latest NCAA GSR Report. The most recent GSR data show that 79 percent of freshmen student-athletes who entered college in 2001 earned their four-year degrees. The average Graduation Success Rate for the last four graduating classes is 78 percent. Both rates are up one percentage point from last year. The overall Division I graduation success rate for men's basketball was 65 percent, for football (FBS schools) 66 percent and for women's basketball 85 percent.

-- NIU --