Posted: Dec 02, 2021

Bryant student-athletes among best in the country

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University student-athletes continue to distinguish themselves in the classroom, graduating at rates well above their conference and national peers, according to information released Thursday by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The annual report, issued by the NCAA, revealed a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 95 percent, compared to a national average of 90 percent for all Division I institutions.

Bryant's 95 percent graduation rate marks the seventh-straight year the department's number has been above 92. It's also a two-point jump from last year. The Bulldogs are also tied with Long Island University for the highest overall GSR in the NEC.

Of Bryant's 18 varsity sports (cross country and track and field are considered one sport in GSR), 10 achieved perfect 100 GSR scores, more than any other program in the NEC. The teams that achieved perfect scores are baseball, men's basketball, men's golf, men's tennis, men's cross country/track and field, women's basketball, softball, women's soccer, women's cross country/track and field and women's volleyball.

Bryant highlights from the NCAA report

Bryant achieved an overall GSR of 95 percent, five points above the national average of 90. It is the eighth-straight year the Bulldogs have been above 90 percent.
10 Bryant team achieved a perfect GSR of 100: baseball, men's basketball, men's golf, men's tennis, men's cross country/track and field and women's basketball, softball, women's soccer, women's cross country/track and field and women's volleyball.
4 Bryant teams achieved a GSR that was at least 10 points above the national average for their sport (men's basketball +26, men's cross country/track and field +26, football +14 and baseball +14).
Bryant's football program posted a GSR of 94, the highest in the NEC and 22nd among all Division I football institutions. The Bulldogs are 16th among Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools.
Bryant men's and women's basketball both posted perfect 100 GSRs for the fourth-straight year.
Softball has had a perfect graduation rate for the ninth-straight years, men's golf has been at 100 for nine-straight years and volleyball has been perfect for eight consecutive years.

Division I student-athletes continue to graduate at their highest rate in the 20 years the data has been tracked, according to the latest Graduation Success Rate data announced today. The overall single-year rate held steady at last year's rate of 90%.

Figures released today reflect graduation numbers among student-athletes who entered school in 2014. When the Graduation Success Rate was created more than two decades ago, then-NCAA President Myles Brand set an aspirational goal of 80%. Student-athletes first surpassed that goal with the release of the rates in 2011.

NCAA President Mark Emmert congratulated student-athletes on their continued academic success.

"When the initial draft of a new NCAA constitution was unveiled last month, committee members emphasized academics as the top principle on which college athletics is based," Emmert said. "Today's announcement proves that college athletes take seriously their status as students. We celebrate them and their achievements and will continue to support them as the NCAA modernizes its rules to benefit them."

College athletes who compete in FBS football held their single-year rate steady at 81%. Women's basketball student-athletes increased by 2 points to 94%.

Since its inception 20 years ago, Graduation Success Rates for Division I student-athletes overall have increased 16 points.

Rates for Black student-athletes during that same period increased 24 points to 80%, while Hispanic/Latinx student-athletes increased 24 points to 88% and white student-athletes saw a 13-point increase to 94%.

In men's sports, 20 years of increased academic success led to an 18-point increase in FBS football and a 28-point increase in men's basketball. Significant gains were also made in baseball, with a 23-point increase to 88%, and in men's wrestling, with a 24-point increase to 86%.

Women have continually performed well in graduation rates. Over the course of the past 20 years, the largest increase in graduation rates occurred in women's basketball, which saw a 14-point increase to 94%. Softball rates increased 12 points to 94%, and women's tennis and women's volleyball have seen 11-point increases each, to 97% and 94% respectively.