Graduation Rates Are Mixed Bag

With the NCAA pushing toward an era of academic reform, officials said they found reason for optimism in an annual survey released Monday.

Athletes at Division I major colleges graduated at a rate of 62% last school year, the NCAA report said. That was two points higher than for all college students nationwide.

The rates for black male and female basketball players -- at 42% and 59%, respectively -- represented slight increases. The rate for football players rose to 55%.

“We’re just doing a better job,” said NCAA President Myles Brand. “I believe the coaches and the entire athletic departments have gotten the message.”

Over the next few years, the NCAA will implement a series of reforms threatening teams with the loss of scholarships and postseason bans if players stumble in the classroom.

Brand said that although he was pleased that athletes were graduating at a higher rate than the overall student population, “I do think there is room for continued improvement.”

In the latest survey, USC fared better than some of the national averages, graduating 64% of its athletes and 59% of its football players. The men’s basketball team, however, has hovered around 20% in recent years.

At UCLA, the overall rate for athletes, which has averaged 61% over four years, dropped to 49%. The numbers were particularly low for football, 39%, and men’s basketball, 25%.

Administrators at both schools pointed to the way rates are calculated.

The NCAA looks at each incoming class of freshmen and determines how many athletes graduate within six years. The latest rates are based on the 1997-98 freshman class.

Any athlete who transfers is counted as not graduating, even if he or she eventually earns a degree from another school.

At USC, two freshman basketball players from the 1997-98 class transferred and another went to the NBA before graduating.

The Bruins also had numerous players transfer or leave for the pros -- and count against their rate -- in football and basketball.

“Obviously, that year is not in line with other years we’ve had,” athletic department spokesman Marc Dellins said.

NCAA officials will soon change the formula to account for transfers. Still, some of the numbers from this year’s report could continue to be troubling. In basketball, the rate for white male players dropped four points to 48%, and the rate for white female players fell three points to 67%. Baseball also showed a decrease to 46%.

Starting this fall, athletic departments must submit term-by-term progress reports. The NCAA is enacting stricter rules that will require athletes to complete roughly 20% of the classwork required for their degrees each year, keeping them on track to graduate within five years.

Brand said he was confident his association could generate continued improvement, saying, “Our academic reforms have begun to phase in.”