NCAA: College athletes graduating at record-high rate

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA said Wednesday that the overall graduation rate for college athletes hit a record high of 89%.

That’s up 1 percentage point from last year’s previous one-year high and almost 10 percentage points above the goal established by the late Myles Brand when the measure was first introduced 17 years ago.

This year’s number tracks college athletes who first enrolled in college in 2012.

In the Football Bowl Subdivision, the percentage of players graduating jumped from 79% last year to a record 82%. Black athletes in FBS programs also saw a three-percentage point increase to 78%.

In men’s basketball, the rate declined from 85% to 83%. The number for women’s basketball players remained unchanged at 91%, and for the first time every women’s sport hit at least 90%.

The federal graduation rate shows athletes and non-athletes are both graduating at 68%. The federal rate does not take into account whether students earn a degree from a school other than the one they first enrolled in.