Oct. 2, 2006

University of Notre Dame athletic programs again rank among the best in the country in graduation rates, based on Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures released last week by the NCAA.

Among the 119 NCAA Division I-A football-playing institutions, Notre Dame had the second-highest percentage of its sports with 100 percent scores, with a .772 figure (17 of 22).

Here are the top 10 in that category:

Institution	Percentage	100 Scores/Sports Rated
1. U.S. Naval Academy	.842	16/19
2. Notre Dame	.772	17/22
3. Duke	.727	16/21
4. Northwestern	.722	13/18
5. (tie) SMU	.667	10/15
Vanderbilt	.667	8/12
7. Boston College	.629	17/27
8. Illinois	.588	10/17
9. Wake Forest	.571	8/14
10. Rice	.583	7/13

In football, Notre Dame achieved a 95 GSR rating, with only the U.S. Naval Academy (at 98) and Boston College (96) ranking higher. Here are the institutions with scores of 80 or higher in that category:

Score, Institution
98, U.S. Naval Academy
96, Boston College
95, Notre Dame
94, Stanford
93, Wake Forest, Duke, U.S. Air Force Academy
92, Vanderbilt
91, Northwestern
90, U.S. Military Academy
88, Ball State, Nebraska
85, Baylor
84, Rice
83, Kent State
82, SMU
80, Florida, Penn State

If the current USA Today college football poll were re-ranked by football GSR score, Notre Dame would rank number one. Here's how the poll would look:

Institution	GSR	Actual Ranking
1. Notre Dame	95	12
2. Nebraska	88	22
3. Florida	80	5
4. Clemson	77	15
5. Virginia Tech	74	18
6. Texas Tech	73	24
7. Michigan	71	6
8. Boise State	65	21
9. Iowa	64	19
10. (tie) Auburn	63	3
West Virginia	63	4
12. Oregon	59	11
13. (tie) Tennessee	58	14
Rutgers	58	23
15. (tie) Ohio State	55	1
USC	55	2
Georgia Tech	55	20
18. (tie) Louisville	53	8
Missouri	53	25
20. (tie) Oklahoma	52	13
Florida State	52	16
22. LSU	49	10
23. California	44	17
24. Georgia	41	9
25. Texas	40	7

In men's basketball, Notre Dame achieved a 91 GSR rating, with only the U.S. Naval Academy, Wake Forest and Florida (each at 100) and the U.S. Military Academy (97) ranking higher. Here are the institutions with scores of 80 or higher in that category:

Score, Institution
100, U.S. Naval Academy, Wake Forest, Florida
97, U.S. Military Academy
91, Notre Dame, Michigan State
89, U.S. Air Force Academy
88, Kansas State, Northwestern
87, Baylor, Troy
85, Virginia
83, Marshall, Ohio, Rice, Southern Mississippi, Utah State
82, Indiana, Vanderbilt
80, Washington

In women's basketball, Notre Dame achieved a 100 GSR rating, as one of 16 Division I-A institutions with a perfect score. Here are the institutions with scores of 90 or higher in that category:

Score, Institution
100, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kent State, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rice, Syracuse, Tennessee, U.S. Naval Academy, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest
99, U.S. Military Academy
97, Virginia
94, BYU, East Carolina, Temple
93, Ohio State, Texas, Tulane, Wyoming
92, Baylor, Boston College, Central Florida, Clemson, Colorado, Colorado State, Indiana, SMU, Stanford, Washington
91, Connecticut, Duke, Purdue, Toledo, U.S. Air Force Academy
90, Oregon State

The national GSR for 2006 for Division I-A is 77 percent. Only team rates were released. The second-year GSR data is based upon the entering classes from 1996 to 1999.

In addition to women's basketball, other Notre Dame programs recording 100 GSR scores were baseball, men's cross country/track, women's cross country/track, men's fencing, women's fencing, women's golf, ice hockey, women's lacrosse, rowing, men's soccer, softball, men's swimming, women's swimming, men's tennis, women's tennis and volleyball. Men's lacrosse received a 97, women's soccer earned a 94 and men's golf received a 92.