DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University student-athletes have put the "success" in Graduation Success Rate (GSR) again in 2016 according to the annual GSR report released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
 
NIU ranks among the national leaders with a Graduation Success Rate of 87 percent for student-athletes who enrolled at NIU between 2006-07 and 2009-10, matching its 2015 GSR. The Huskies' number is second in the MAC behind only Bowling Green and is three points above the national average for Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools.  Among Illinois institutions, NIU's overall GSR ranks tied for second among all public institutions with the University of Illinois and Illinois State, behind only SIU-Edwardsville (90 percent). 
 
"I'm extremely proud of our student-athletes and their record of success in the classroom as well as on the field and in the community," said NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier. "NIU student-athletes continue to graduate at rates significantly higher than the national average and are setting the pace in the MAC and among public institutions in the state. Congratulations to the student-athletes, as well as our coaches, and academic support team both in athletics and throughout campus."   
 
The NIU football program again leads the MAC and ranks in the Top 20 nationally with a GSR of 84 percent, which is 10 points above the national FBS average. NIU's football GSR ranks seven points above the next-highest MAC school (Toledo, 77 percent) and is in the top 10 nationally among public institutions. Among state institutions (FBS and FCS), NIU football is second behind only Northwestern's 97 percent rate, and well above every other public institution in Illinois with Illinois State (75 percent) next and the University of Illinois at 70 percent.
 
Football is one of six NIU programs that leads or is tied for first in the MAC in GSR in the 2016 report. Women's golf, gymnastics, softball, women's soccer and volleyball all checked in with perfect 100 percent GSRs with women's gymnastics posting a 100 percent GSR for the ninth straight report, while women's golf has been at 100 percent in each of the last eight years.  Women's track and field/cross country (91) and women's basketball (90) also checked in with a GSR of 90 percent of higher in the 2016 report as seven of NIU's eight women's programs rank above the national average for their respective sports. 
 
Combined, NIU's Graduation Success Rate for its female student-athletes stands at 96 percent for the 2009 cohort, five percent above the national average for Division I institutions and tops among all MAC schools.
 
Men's soccer led the way among all NIU male programs in GSR with a rate of 92 percent in the 2016 report to rank second in the MAC.  In addition to football, men's golf (88 percent), men's tennis (86) and baseball (84) were above the 80 percent threshold and four NIU men's programs – football, soccer, baseball and men's basketball – ranked above the national average in their respective sports. The Huskies' male graduation rate of 81 percent for all seven programs is second in the league to Bowling Green's 84 percent.
 
The GSR has been used by the NCAA as an academic assessment tool for the last 15 years and is seen as the most accurate measure of a school's ability to graduate student-athletes. Unlike the federal graduation rate, the GSR holds institutions accountable for transfer students and accounts for mid-year enrollees. Universities are not penalized for outgoing transfer students who leave in good academic standing, while incoming transfer students and midyear enrollees are included in the calculation.
 
The complete Graduation Success Rate report for all Division I schools, including a searchable historical database and the Federal Graduation Rate data, is available online, click the link above.
 
-- NIU --