STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s athletic teams combined for a score of 86 in the annual release of the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rates (GSR), representing the school’s highest total since the formula’s inception in 2005.
The 86 percentile is up one point from last year’s previous school-record total of 85, and it is two points better than the national Division I average of 84. MSU’s total ranked sixth among the 14-member Southeastern Conference institutions. The score is a measure of the four-year cohort from 2006-09.
A record six Bulldog programs — men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s golf, softball and volleyball — earned perfect scores of 100. Three other teams registered scores of 90 or better, including women’s basketball (94), soccer (93) and baseball (91).
Eleven Bulldog programs exceeded the GSR national average: men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, football (75), softball, volleyball, women’s basketball, soccer, baseball and men’s track and field (88).
Seven MSU programs tied or exceeded their all-time GSR high: football, men’s and women’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s tennis and volleyball.
Ole Miss recorded its highest GSR in school history at 81 percent. Also Ole Miss is graduating student-athletes at a rate nearly 2 percent higher than the university for the first time since 2009.
In the spring, Ole Miss student-athletes posted a collective 3.0 GPA for the first time.
The women’s basketball, women’s golf, volleyball, and rifle teams scores of 100 percent. This will be the eighth-consecutive year the women’s golf team has posted a perfect GSR, while volleyball team has achieved the feat six-straight years. It’s the fourth year in a row the women’s basketball team has had a perfect score, and the third for the rifle team.
Alabama’s men’s basketball program, along with six other Crimson Tide programs, led the SEC in GSR. Overall, Alabama’s GSR was 89, ranking in the top three in the SEC along with Vanderbilt (93) and South Carolina (91). The Crimson Tide’s overall score ranks in the top third nationally. The GSR spans the period covering student-athletes who attended Alabama from 2006-09.
The men’s basketball team remained at 100, while the football team posted an 80, which is fourth in the SEC. It marks the eighth year in a row the Alabama football team has ranked in the top four in the SEC by GSR.
Alabama was first, or tied for first, in seven sports. In addition to men’s basketball, Alabama also led the SEC with perfect GSR scores of 100 in men’s golf, women’s golf, gymnastics, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and men’s swimming and diving. In addition to the sports that posted perfect scores of 100, five others — softball (94), soccer (93), women’s track and field (93), women’s swimming and diving (92), and volleyball (91) — posted scores above 90.
Twelve Alabama programs recorded a GSR score of 90 or better, and 14 posted marks above 85.
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