Top > Sport > 2006 > October > 2006-10-03

College athletes actually go to college

A new study released by the NCAA shows that %77 of all Division I athletes complete the college degree within six years of entering. The numbers, says NCAA President Myles Brand, are climbing in 24 of the 35 men`s and women`s sports. The new study helps fight a stereotype of "dumb jocks" that NCAA athletes were labeled with. Proving that success does not conflict with academic achievement, the defending national champion Florida basketball program boasts a rate of 100%.

The survey tracked 93,000 athletes nationwide, who entered school in the four-year period from 1996-99. a further breakdown by race and gender will be released later this fall. The NCAA has stiffened academic requirements for college athletes, and Brand says he expects rates to improve. "Even in sports that have traditionally lagged, such as basketball and football, we are seeing improvement," said Brand, who has set a goal of an overall 80% grad rate in the next three to five years. "Overall, we`re very encouraged."

Three men`s sports continued to lag: basketball (59%, up a point from a year ago), baseball (65%, holding steady) and football (66% in the top-tier Division I-A, also up a point). Seventeen basketball programs, though, hit 100%, including Florida, Wake Forest, Western Kentucky, Bucknell and 13 others. But other programs, such as New Mexico (7%), Florida A&M and Georgia (both 9%), bring the average down.