Boston College Athletics
BC Student-Athlete Graduation Rate Ranked Sixth In Nation
September 02, 2003 | Boston College Athletics
Sept. 2, 2003
Boston College's graduation rate for all student-athletes (male and female) is the sixth-best in the nation among Division I-A athletics programs, according to data just released by the NCAA and featured in the USA Today/NCAA Academic Achievement Awards.
The rankings are determined by federal graduation-rate forms (all schools offering athletic scholarships are required to complete the forms annually) and are for freshmen who entered in fall 1996 and had six years to graduate. Boston College ranked sixth with an 86% graduation rate.
"Boston College student-athletes have a long and proud tradition of attaining one of the best graduation rates in the country," Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo says. "This is a testament to our coaches, our Learning Resources staff, and most importantly to our student-athletes, who have proven they work just as hard in the classroom as on the playing field."
Notre Dame finished with the best graduation rate among Division I-A institutions at 92%, followed by Tulsa (89%), Duke (88%), Wisconsin (88%) and Northwestern (87%). Rounding out the top 10 (after BC) were Stanford (84%), Western Michigan (83%), Michigan (82%) and Syracuse (81%).
Tuesday's announcement marked the second major academic recognition for BC in recent months. In June, BC was honored by the American Football Coaches Association as one of seven institutions nationally to record a football graduation rate of 90 percent or better.
