By Office of News & Public Affairs |

Published: Nov. 1, 2012

Boston College, along with Northwestern University, tied for third in the nation for overall Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in all sports among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools, according to data released by the NCAA this week. The 97 percent that both schools registered was topped only by Notre Dame (99) and Duke (98).

In addition, the football team’s score of 94 was tied with Miami, Fla., as tops in the Atlantic Coast Conference and third in the nation, making BC one of only nine FBS programs in the country to receive a football GSR score of 90 or better. Besides BC and Miami, the others were Notre Dame (97), Northwestern (97), Rice (93), Duke (92), Penn State (91), Rutgers (91) and Stanford (90).

Seventeen BC sports teams received a perfect GSR score of 100: men’s and women’s fencing, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s skiing, men’s and women’s swimming, women’s basketball, women’s rowing, women’s field hockey, women’s ice hockey, women’s softball, women’s soccer, women’s tennis, women’s track and women’s volleyball.

The NCAA developed the Graduation Success Rate as part of its academic reform initiative to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students unlike the federal graduation rate. The GSR also accounts for midyear enrollees and is calculated for every sport.

More information about the GSR report may be found at the NCAA’s website, www.ncaa.org.  

—via Boston College Athletics