RedHawk student-athlete graduation rates beat national average

Nearly nine out of 10 student-athletes who enroll at Miami University ultimately leave Miami with a degree, according to the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR), developed to assess the academic success of collegiate student-athletes.

According to the recently released GSR calculation that measures graduation in a six-year time frame from initial college enrollment in 2004, Miami's student-athletes' overall GSR is 89 percent, nine percent higher than the national rate.

Miami's female student-athletes combined for a nearly perfect GSR of 97 percent, while male student-athletes graded out at 83 percent.

The GSR takes into account students who transferred into the institution and have left the school in good academic standing.

Miami University's graduate success rate overall shows the general student body is 91 percent for that period, just two percent higher than Miami's student-athletes.

The GSR of seven different RedHawk teams - women's swimming (100 percent), women's basketball (100 percent), soccer (100 percent), softball (100 percent) and volleyball (100 percent), men's swimming and diving (96 percent) and football (86 percent)--rank at the top or tied for best among Mid-American Conference institutions.

Other rates were achieved by Miami field hockey (94 percent), women's cross country and track and field (92 percent), men's golf (89 percent), women's tennis (88 percent), men's cross country and track and field (84 percent) and men's basketball (82 percent).

Brad Bates, Miami's director of athletics, praised Miami's student-athletes and gave partial credit for their success to those who provided them with the opportunity to flourish in the classroom.

"The national data continues to verify the high level of intellectual engagement by our student-athletes as their scholarly performance is once again among the very best public universities in the nation," said Bates. "The high achievements of our students are not only a reflection of their scholarship, but of the high quality coaches who recruit them, the faculty who educate them, our staff that supports them, and the prestigious and pragmatic value of a Miami education."

Learn more online at www.RedHawks.com.