Tuesday, November 15, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference is known for its great competition on the courts and fields of play. Once again, the conference is showing that its student-athletes are great in the classroom as well.

The GNAC is sixth among NCAA Division II’s 24 conferences with a 60 percent federal graduation rate according to data released on Nov. 15 by the NCAA. The percentage is four points higher than the graduation rate of 56 percent for all students at GNAC member institutions.

The GNAC was one of four conferences in Division II with a 60 percent graduation rate, joining the East Coast Conference, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Sunshine State Conference. The Northeast-10 Conference has Division II’s top graduation rate at 70 percent.

In addition, the GNAC was tied for eighth out of the the 24 Division II conference in academic success rate at 75 percent, equaling last year’s figure.

This is the sixth straight year in which the GNAC has ranked among the top-10 Division II conferences in student-athlete graduation rate. It is also the sixth straight year in which the GNAC has ranked among the top-eight Division II conferences in academic success rate.

Among GNAC sponsored sports, soccer and cross country/track and field proved the most successful in terms of academic success rate. Women’s cross country/track and field and women’s soccer lead the way with an 89 percent success rate. Both men’s soccer and men’s cross country/track and field posted a 75 percent success rate.

The federal graduation rates and academic success rates are based on the the performance of freshmen student-athletes who entered college from 2006 to 2009. The graduation rate data is based on a six-year cohort prescribed by the U.S. Department of Education.

Unlike the federal graduation rate, the academic success rate accounts for the academic outcomes of student-athletes who transfer from one institution to another. The Division II academic success rate also measures outcomes for student-athletes who are not receiving athletically-related financial aid, a unique metric among NCAA divisions.

As a division, the Division II graduation rate increased one point to 56 percent, while the federal rate for the overall student body held steady at 49 percent. The Division II four-year average academic success rate stayed the same at 71 percent and the single year academic success rate for the 2009 cohort also remained at 72 percent.