Tribe Athletics ranks fifth nationally in federal graduation rate
In the latest graduation data released by the
NCAA, the College of William and Mary graduated 89 percent of its
student-athletes who entered the school on athletics scholarship in the
1999-2000 academic year. The top figure in the nation was Duke
University (91 percent), while the College’s total tied it for
fifth-nationally, with Stanford University among others.
“We’re
reminded, by numbers like these, that our student athletes take a
powerfully ennobling—unique, in my view—approach to their pursuits,”
said William and Mary president Gene R. Nichol. “All who love the
College take pride, and hope that the NCAA takes notice.”
Of the
six sports that are individually highlighted in the NCAA report,
William and Mary shows a 100 percent graduation rate in three
(football, women’s basketball and women’s track and field/cross
county). The College’s graduation rate, which is taken from the Federal
Graduation Rate, is made even more impressive when compared to the
national aggregate (63 percent) amongst all Division I schools
“Whether
you look at our 96 percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate [released
earlier this fall] or the most recent 89 percent Federal Graduation
Rate, each figure shows we are amongst the top school’s in the nation
when it comes to graduating our student-athletes,” says William and
Mary Athletics Director, Terry Driscoll. “It confirms the continuing
commitment by our athletes and coaches to the true student-athlete
ideal. ”
From the last reporting period, the College has shown
a marked improvement over both its one-year capsule (89 percent) and
four-year class average gradation rates (86 percent) of five and three
per-cent, respectively.
William and Mary’s graduation figures
compare extremely well to the national average among both all students
in general (61 percent) and, as stated in the opening paragraph, all
student-athletes (63 percent) in Division I.
The most recent
federal graduation rate data examines scholarship student-athletes who
started college in 1999 and graduated within six years. The federal
graduation rate methodology is required annually from colleges and
universities as part of the 1990 Student Right-to-Know Act.
