Boston College Athletics

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – For the second year in a row, Boston College ranks sixth in the nation in overall Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in all sports among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools. The NCAA released the most recent GSR information today.
 
BC boasted an overall GSR of 95, the same as a year ago, for the class of student-athletes that entered the university in 2011. Boston College's GSR was third in the ACC and topped only by Duke (98), Northwestern (98), Notre Dame (98), Stanford (97) and Vanderbilt (97) among FBS institutions.
 
Since the GSR's inception, Boston College has earned a mark of 95 or better in all 14 GSR reports, which first date back to the class of student-athletes that entered in 1998.
 
The NCAA saw an increase of one percentage point from a year ago; posting an overall 88 GSR. FBS participants saw an increase to 79 percent from 78.
 
For the second year in a row, 13 BC teams scored a perfect 100 GSR: field hockey, men's cross-country/track & field, men's golf, men's skiing, men's tennis, women's cross-country/track & field, women's golf, women's ice hockey, women's lacrosse, women's rowing, women's skiing, women's swimming & diving and women's volleyball.
 
Nineteen of Boston College's 23 athletics programs scored a GSR of 92 or better and all 23 posted an 86 or better. Twenty-two of 23 programs scored at or better than the national GSR of 88.
 
BC football ranked fourth in the ACC with an 88 GSR. Men's basketball moved up four spots to seventh in the ACC and improved its GSR score 17 points to 88 this year. The men's basketball team's single-year improvement marked the sixth largest among Power 5 programs and third largest improvement for programs with a starting GSR of 70 or higher from a year ago.
 
The GSR was developed by the NCAA as part of its academic reform initiatives, which were to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. Institutions are held accountable for transfer students – unlike the federal graduation rate – as well as midyear enrollees. The GSR is calculated both overall for a university, as well as for each sport sponsored by a school.
 
More information about the GSR is available at NCAA.org.