Trib: Graduation rates mixed for Bulls

[USFishin]

Graduation rates mixed for Bulls

By ADAM ADKINS | The Tampa Tribune

Eight of the 14 University of South Florida athletics programs had Graduation Success Rate averages below the national average, though six showed improvement from a year ago, according to the most recent study conducted by the NCAA.

USF's football, men's basketball, men's soccer, men's tennis, men's track and field/cross country, women's basketball, women's tennis and women's volleyball were below the national averages for their respective sports.

Baseball and women's track and field/cross country were even with the national averages, while men's golf, women's golf, women's soccer and softball were above the national marks.

The Graduation Success Rate (GSR) calculations measure graduation in a six-year time frame from initial college enrollment, with the latest study beginning with student-athletes entering college in 2003.

Most of USF's athletic teams also ranked near the bottom among programs in the Big East Conference. Football and men's tennis ranked last in their respective groups, while baseball, men's soccer, men's track and field/cross country, women's basketball, men's basketball, women's volleyball, women's track and field/cross country and women's tennis were among the bottom three.

Six USF programs - men's basketball, men's soccer, women's basketball, women's soccer, men's track and field/cross country and women's track and field/cross country - saw their GSR rise from the previous year. "The GSR represents only one entering class, in this case, from the 2003-04 academic year," USF athletic director Doug Woolard said. "We have been very encouraged with our student-athlete's recent increase in academic achievement. "Success in the classroom is most important to us, and through cutting-edge programs ⦠we expect to build on that success moving forward."

The overall GSR was 79 percent for all student-athletes who entered college in 2003, according to the study.

Link

[Cow Pie]

Did JPP or Mitchell graduate  ???

I can't remember or find it on the net.

[DELdaBull]

79% is better than the college at large I believe.

[Guest nybullsfan]

In another year or two we'll shake off the end of the c-usa era, and the #'s should go up.

I expect the CJL firing to have a small 4-year hangover as well.

[BullFan98]

Did JPP or Mitchell graduate  ???

I can't remember or find it on the net.

I couldn't locate any news on this either. 

[USFishin]

Here's the Times article on it:

October 28, 2010

USF Bulls' football graduation rate is among NCAA's lowest

By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer

The NCAA's newest statistics on graduation rates, for college athletes who enrolled in 2003, show USF's football scores to be among the lowest out of the 120 current Division I-A programs.

The NCAA's Graduation Success Rate scores show USF football with a graduation rate of 46 percent - of the 66 schools now in the six major conferences with automatic BCS bids in football, only Oklahoma posted a lower score. USF's score is the lowest of the Big East's eight football programs by a full 17 percentage points, and the Bulls are tied for the third-lowest score among Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly called Division I-A), ahead of only Oklahoma (44) and San Jose State (42).

The NCAA's new statistics are essentially three years old - they measure the success of athletes who enrolled in 2003, while most of USF's current seniors started school in 2006 or 2007. USF has ramped up its academic support efforts in recent years, including an ambitious program this year to give every student-athlete a laptop computer to help with their coursework.

"The GSR represents only one entering class, in this case, from the 2003-04 academic year," USF athletic director Doug Woolard said in a statement. "We have been very encouraged with our student athletes' recent increase in academic achievement. During the 2009-10 academic year, our 465 student athletes combined to produce an outstanding cumulative 3.0 GPA with 62 individuals earning a perfect 4.0 GPA. Success in the classroom is most important to us, and through cutting-edge programs like our MacBook initiative, we expect to build on that success moving forward."

USF did not enter the Big East until 2005, two years after the students in these graduation rates started college; USF's football score was still lower than any program in Conference USA, which was the Bulls' conference from 2003-04 in football.

USF's basketball scores were also among the lowest in the Big East - men's basketball scored at 50 percent, tying for the second lowest among the 16 Big East programs (only Connecticut was lower); women's basketball had a strong graduation rate at 80 percent, but even that mark ranks as the third lowest of 16 Big East programs, ahead of only West Virginia (70) and Providence (67).

The highest graduation scores from USF came from the men's and women's golf programs, which both graduated 100 percent; women's soccer (96 percent) and softball (94) were close behind. Women's tennis (83) and women's track (82) were the only other programs graduating better than 80 percent of its scholarship athletes.

Link

[theman123]

Did JPP or Mitchell graduate  ???

I can't remember or find it on the net.

I highly doubt it.  Both were juniors and I doubt they graduated in 3 years.

[Matt]

JPP had to take like 18 credit hours just to be eligible to come to USF.  I really doubt he did much class work after football season was over and he knew he was going pro.

[Bull-by-Marriage]

Found this link. Overall 2003 class grad rate 4 yrs: 24.3%, 5 yrs: 42.7%, 6yrs: 49.2%. All stats are relative. Are the overall grad rates used as a baseline? So with Football at 46% they are pretty much on par with the overall student body.

http://www.collegeresults.org/search1a.aspx?institutionid=137351

[DELdaBull]

Found this link. Overall 2003 class grad rate 4 yrs: 24.3%, 5 yrs: 42.7%, 6yrs: 49.2%. All stats are relative. Are the overall grad rates used as a baseline? So with Football at 46% they are pretty much on par with the overall student body.

http://www.collegeresults.org/search1a.aspx?institutionid=137351

Don't know what that says aboout our student body  :-[