MORAGA, Calif. -- Student-Athletes at Saint Mary's College graduate at the second-highest success rate among all Division I institutions in the state of California, according to figures released recently by the NCAA.
In addition, using the organization's Graduation Success Rate data for the incoming freshman class of 2006-07, more than one-half of the intercollegiate athletic teams at Saint Mary's have the highest graduation rate among their peers in the West Coast Conference.
"It takes dedication and commitment to be successful on the court or field and in the classroom," said SMC athletic director Mark Orr. "I'm proud of the academic and athletic achievements of Saint Mary's student-athletes. They perform in all facets of their college life in a manner that is consistent with the mission and values of the College.
"This 94 percent GSR is indicative of the tremendous commitment of SMC's coaches, faculty and academic support staff toward the academic experience of our students."
Saint Mary's student-athletes that entered the College in the fall of 2006 graduated a rate of 94 percent according to the GSR, which includes transfer students and student-athletes who leave in good academic standing, unlike the federal graduation rate, which does not count transfers. The GSR and federal rate calculations measure graduation over six years from first-time college enrollment.
The SMC baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's golf, softball, men and women's cross country/track and women's rowing teams each registered the highest GSR among the nine WCC institutions. All eight of those teams recorded perfect 100 percent rates.
The Saint Mary's men's basketball team was one of five teams in the West Coast Conference to record a perfect 100 percent GSR among the athletes that entered school in the fall of 2006. The national average for men's basketball student-athletes is 72 percent.
Stanford University is the state leader in GSR, graduating 97 percent of its student-athletes in that 2006-07 cohort. The Division I average GSR is 83 percent.
The latest data show that Division I student-athletes who entered college in 2006 equaled their highest federal graduation rate of 65 percent – 1 percentage point higher than the general student body at Division I institutions. Since the NCAA first began tracking the Graduation Success Rate with student-athletes who entered college in 1995, the rate has increased 8 percentage points.
