Oct. 8, 2007

Somerset, NJ - With graduation rates among Division I student-athletes on the increase nationwide, Northeast Conference schools collectively ranked among the nation's elite in the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures released by the NCAA.

The latest GSR figures show that 77 percent of Division I student-athletes nationwide who began college from 1997-2000 graduated within six years. NEC student-athletes graduated at an 84.3 percent rate over the same time period. The GSR for NEC women's student-athletes was 91.8 percent, well ahead of the national average which hit a high of 87.3 percent for those who began their studies in 2000. The men's GSR for the conference was 75.9 percent, outpacing the 71.5 percent rate nationwide for student-athletes who started their studies in 2000.

"In its 27 years as a Division I conference, the NEC has always had a strong commitment to academic excellence," said NEC Commissioner Brenda Weare. "This GSR data reaffirms the league's dedication to graduating its student-athletes."

Figures also showed that 61 NEC teams achieved a perfect 100 percent GSR in their respective sports during the 1997-00 time frame. The sport of women's tennis had seven schools achieve a perfect graduation rate, followed by women's basketball and women's soccer with six apiece, along with five each for softball and men's golf.

In looking at individual institutions, Robert Morris had 10 of its 13 sports record a perfect 100 percent GSR, while Sacred Heart did the same in 15 out of 24 sports. Robert Morris was also one of two football programs with a 100 percent graduation rate in the report, with Boston University being the other.

In July, Wagner College captured the inaugural Northeast Conference Institutional Grade Point Average (GPA) award for the 2006-07 academic year with a combined grade point average of 3.147 in 19 sports, narrowly edging out Quinnipiac (3.142) and Sacred Heart (3.135). Wagner claimed a league-high six team GPA awards, winning in men's cross country (3.48), women's cross country (3.64), women's lacrosse (3.26), women's swimming (3.51), men's indoor track and field (3.27) and men's outdoor track and field (3.27).

In summing up the GSR figures, over two thirds of NEC teams - 118 in total - bettered the nationwide Division I GSR in their respective sport. In the breakdown, 73.6 percent of NEC women's teams and 63.0 percent of men's teams exceeded national averages on a sport-by-sport basis. In high profile sports, NEC women's basketball teams earned a GSR of 95.7 percent, compared to an 81 percent national mark. Similarly, NEC men's basketball recorded a 69.5 percent GSR (national: 61 percent) and football a 66.0 percent GSR (national: 65 percent).

NEC Sports Above National Average (1997-00 GSR)

Sport NEC GSR National GSR

Baseball 75.6 66.0

Men's Basketball 69.5 61.0

Women's Basketball 95.7 81.0

Men's Cross Country/Track 77.8 74.0

Women's Cross Country/Track 86.5 83.0

Field Hockey 97.3 94.0

Football 66.0 65.0

Men's Golf 82.0 79.0

Women's Golf 93.0 87.0

Women's Soccer 95.4 89.0

Softball 91.9 85.0

Women's Tennis 90.8 88.0

The NCAA developed the GSR three years ago to more accurately assess long-term student-athlete academic success. The GSR differs from the federally mandated graduation-rate methodology in that it counts transfers into and out of an institution. Figures released include overall GSR data at the national level for all Division I student-athletes and nationally for each sport. In addition, the figures include team GSR and federal graduation rate data for every sports team at every Division I institution. Overall GSR and federal graduation rate data per institution (including data reported by ethnicity) will be released later this month.

NCAA President Myles Brand praised Division I student-athletes for their achievements in the classroom and on the field, adding that increased Graduation Success Rates have led to 850 additional student-athletes from the 2000 cohort earning their degrees than did in the 1995 cohort.

"NCAA student-athletes are students first, and by and large they are good students," he said. "They have been afforded the privilege of competing in their chosen sport while pursuing their studies as full-time students, and most of them are handling those twin responsibilities quite well."

Now in its 27th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 11 institutions of higher learning located throughout five states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#24), and Hartford/New Haven (#29). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 21 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 13 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit www.northeastconference.org. --