Indianapolis - The NCAA released its annual Division II graduation rate data on Thursday afternoon. The data showed that East Coast Conference student-athletes continue to shine in the classroom, ranking among the top conferences in Division II in Academic Success Rate (ASR) and federal graduation rate.
In the report, the ECC ASR comes in at 81 percent. This marks the third straight year the conference ASR has increased. Additionally, the Federal Graduation Rate of ECC student-athletes is 64 percent, which is 14 percent higher than the general student population. Both figures rank in the top-seven among all Division II conferences.
"It is always important to recognize the commitment that our student-athletes make to achieving not only in their sports and in their community but, of course, to excellence in the classroom," said ECC Commissioner, Dr. Robert Dranoff. "This data makes clear that our student-athletes persist toward their degrees as they move towards preparing for a successful life after graduation."
Division II graduation rates increased to 76-percent, a two-point increase from last year's rate, according to the most recent Academic Success Rate data.
Division II ASR includes transfers into a school in the calculation and removes likely transfers out who left school while academically eligible. The ASR also includes the more than 31,000 non-scholarship student-athletes who were enrolled in the four years covered in the most recent data.
Even when using the less-inclusive federal rate, Division II student-athletes are outperforming the general student body by eight percent. For Division II athletes, the federal rate increased one percentage point to 60 percent, and the general student body increased one point to 52 percent.
The ASR in Division II was formed after presidents and chancellors called for the NCAA to develop a measure of graduation success that better reflects transfer patterns and the population of student-athletes in higher education
Academic Success Rate Ranking By NCAA Division II Conference
Northeast-10 Conference - 89%
Sunshine State Conference - 88%
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference - 84%
Great Lakes Valley Conference - 84%
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference - 82%
East Coast Conference - 81%
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference - 81%
Pacific West Conference - 81%
Great Midwest Athletic Conference - 80%
Great Northwest Athletic Conference - 80%
Peach Belt Conference - 77%
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - 76%
Conference Carolinas - 75%
California Collegiate Athletic Association - 73%
South Atlantic Conference - 71%
Gulf South Conference - 70%
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference - 69%
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association - 68%
Independent - 68%
Great American Conference - 67%
Lone Star Conference - 67%
Mountain East Conference - 67%
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association - 64%
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - 60%
Portions of the release provided by Meghan Durham and Saquandra Heath - NCAA
