“Oh the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.”
“Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!”
(Excerpts from “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss)
As we send another bright, enthusiastic class out into the world, let’s take a look at yet another reason why we love Our Lady’s University so much.
These numbers are for the class of 2014, because the class of 2015 numbers don’t come out until the fall, but we can be confident that the numbers will be just the same if not better.
In 2014, the University of Notre Dame once again claimed the national championship for graduating student-athletes in all sports–in the process posting the top NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figure (99) for its student-athletes for the eighth consecutive year.
The GSR number for all Notre Dame student-athletes ranks the Irish first among the football-playing institutions in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). The 2014 NCAA figures are based on entering classes from 2004 through 2007.
Here are some additional academic highlights based on the NCAA-issued GSR and federal figures released last fall (October 28, 2014):
— A record-tying 20 of 22 Irish athletic programs analyzed posted GSR figures of 100 percent, and eight produced federal rate 100 scores. It’s the second straight year Notre Dame’s programs have combined for 20 perfect GSR scores–after four previous years with 19.
— For the ninth time in 10 years, Notre Dame ranks number one on a percentage basis in terms of number of GSR 100 scores, among all FBS schools.
— Twenty-one of Notre Dame’s 22 men’s and women’s programs posted GSR numbers that rank them best in the nation within their sports–and 11 produced federal graduation rates that led all FBS institutions.
For the sixth straight year Notre Dame leads the nation in four GSR categories–for all student-athletes (at 99), male student-athletes (98), female student-athletes (100) and black student-athletes (96).
Who else rises to the top along with Notre Dame? Let’s take a look!
2014 NCAA Graduation Rates
The following data comes from student-athletes who enrolled between 2004 and 2007 (numbers are percentages):
All Student-Athletes
GSR
1. Notre Dame, 99
2. Stanford, 98
3. Duke, 97
4. Northwestern, 96
5. (tie) Boston College, Central Florida, 95
7. Wake Forest, 94
8. (tie) Miami (Fla.), Rice, 92
10. (tie) Alabama, Clemson , 91
Federal Rate
1. Stanford, 95
2. Notre Dame, 89
3. Northwestern, 88
4. Duke, 84
5. Rice, 82
6. Penn State, 79
7. Michigan, 78
8. Wake Forest, 77
9. (tie) Boston College, Illinois, Virginia, 76
Male Student-Athletes
GSR
1. (tie) Notre Dame, Stanford, 98
3. (tie) Duke, Northwestern, 95
5. Boston College, 93
6. (tie) Central Florida, Wake Forest, 92
8. (tie) Rice, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, 89
Federal Rate
1. Stanford, 92
2. Northwestern, 88
3. Notre Dame, 86
4. Duke, 82
5. (tie) Rice, Wake Forest, 76
7. Penn State, 74
8. (tie) Michigan, Virginia, 70
10. (tie) Boston College, Northern Illinois, TCU, 69
Female Student-Athletes
GSR
1. Notre Dame, 100
2. Duke, 99
3. (tie) Boston College, Central Florida, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, 98
9. (tie) Clemson, Stanford, Virginia Tech, 97
Federal Rate
1. Stanford, 97
2. Notre Dame, 94
3. Rice, 92
4. Michigan, 89
5. (tie) Duke, Northwestern, 88
7. Vanderbilt, 87
8. Illinois, Penn State, 86
10. (tie) Missouri, North Carolina, 85
Black Student-Athletes
GSR
1. (tie) Notre Dame, Duke, 96
3. Stanford, 95
4. (tie) Rice, U.S. Air Force Academy, 93
6. (tie) Central Florida, Northwestern, 90
8. (tie) Miami (Fla.), Penn State, Utah State, 89
Federal Rate
1. Stanford, 90
2. (tie) Northwestern, Rice, 88
4. Duke, 85
5. Notre Dame, 82
6. Wake Forest, 75
7. (tie) Penn State, Northern Illinois, Tulane, 72
10. (tie) UCLA, Utah State, 71
Football Student-Athletes
GSR
1. Stanford, 99
2. Northwestern, 97
3. Rice, 95
4. Notre Dame, 94
5. U.S. Air Force Academy, 93
6. (tie) Boston College, Duke, 92
8. Northern Illinois, 91
9. Wake Forest, 90
10. (tie) UCLA, U.S. Military Academy, 88
Federal Rate
1. (tie) Northwestern, Stanford, 93
3. Rice, 87
4. Wake Forest, 83
5. Northern Illinois, 82
6. Duke, 81
7. Boston College, 79
8. TCU, 77
9. (tie) Notre Dame, Penn State, 75
Over the 10 years worth of numbers of both the federal rates and the GSR, Notre Dame has had 100 possible rankings in the five categories (among the FBS institutions). Notre Dame has impressively ranked first 48 times, ranked second 23 times and ranked third nine times.
For the ninth time in 10 years, Notre Dame ranks number one on a percentage basis in terms of number of GSR 100 scores, among all NCAA FBS schools. Twenty of 22 athletics programs at Notre Dame compiled graduation rates of 100 percent, and none were below 94 percent. It’s the second straight year Notre Dame’s programs have combined for 20 perfect scores–after four previous years with 19. None of the FBS programs in the country had a higher percentage of 100 GSR scores than did Notre Dame with its .909 number (20 of 22).
In addition, Notre Dame ranked second among all FBS institutions with eight perfect scores among 22 sports (.363) in the federal graduation rate analysis.
Here are the top institutions in the GSR category (these are the only FBS institutions with 50 or more percent of their sports registering 100 marks):
Graduation Success Rate
Institution | Percentage | 100 Scores/Sports Rated |
1. Notre Dame | .909 | 20/22 |
2. Vanderbilt | .714 | 10/14 |
3. Stanford | .704 | 19/27 |
4. Duke | .681 | 15/22 |
5. Tulane | .667 | 6/9 |
6. Wake Forest | .571 | 8/14 |
7. Northwestern | .526 | 10/19 |
8. Boston College | .521 | 12/23 |
9. (tie) Miami (Fla.), Central Fla. | .500 | 7/14 |
Here are the top institutions in the federal category (these are the only eight FBS institutions with four or more 100 scores):
Federal Graduation Rates
Institution | Percentage | 100 Scores/Sports Rated |
1. Stanford | .518 | 14/27 |
2. Notre Dame | .363 | 8/22 |
3. (tie) Duke, Boston College | .277 | 5/18 |
5. Michigan | .217 | 5/23 |
6. (tie) Northwestern, UMass | .210 | 4/19 |
8. Penn State | .200 | 5/25 |
There is an ongoing debate that you either have to be a football school, or an academic school. I love how Notre Dame continues to prove the critics wrong. As evident in the above numbers, you can be both. Dream big, anything is possible!
(The federal graduation rate methodology used by the Department of Education counts all student-athletes who transfer from or leave an institution for any reason as non-graduates from their initial school, even if they leave in good academic standing.)
Cheers & GO IRISH!
(Data for this story from Notre Dame athletics.)
- Breaking Discoveries in CTE Research? - March 12, 2018
- A Football Player’s Lucky Charm? - February 22, 2018
- Part II: From Football to Coffee Beans? - January 31, 2018