Nov. 11, 1998
Notre Dame is No. 1 when the college football teams in the current wire service and Bowl Championship Series rankings are reranked by graduation rate, and the overall graduation rate of all student-athletes at the University is second among the nation's Division I-A colleges and universities, according to the latest annual report compiled by the NCAA.
The 1998 NCAA Graduation-Rates Report, the eighth such survey issued by the association, covers students who enrolled between 1988 and 1991 at 308 Division I institutions. The NCAA bases graduation rates on the raw percentage of student-athletes who entered an institution and graduated within six years. Students who leave or transfer, regardless of academic standing, are considered nongraduates.
Using the NCAA formula, Notre Dame graduated 88 percent of its student-athletes, second only to Duke University at 92 percent. (Among student-athletes who complete all four years of athletic eligibility at Notre Dame, i.e., not considering those who leave or transfer, 99 percent earn their degree.) The national average for Division I-A schools - the 111 institutions with the largest football programs - is 58 percent.
Notre Dame graduated 86 percent of men competing in varsity athletics, again second to Duke's 92 percent. Among women, Notre Dame's 93-percent graduation rate is bettered by only Boston College's 96 percent and Northwestern's 95 percent.
Fighting Irish football players graduated at an 80-percent rate, fifth nationally behind Duke, Vanderbilt University, Boston College and Northwestern and first among the nation's top 25 programs. Among the Big East Conference institutions, the 80-percent graduation rate of the Notre Dame men's basketball program is second only to St. John's University at 85 percent.
Notre Dame graduated 82 percent of its African-American student-athletes, third to Duke and Stanford University, at 94 and 83 percent, respectively.
Note: See the accompanying charts for more information.
All Student-Athletes
Institution %
1. Duke 92
2. Notre Dame 88
3. Stanford 86
4. Northwestern 85
5. Virginia 84
6. Boston College 83
(tie) Vanderbilt 83
8. Penn State 79
(tie) SMU 79
(tie) Michigan State 79
Male Student-Athletes
Institution %
1. Duke 92
2. Notre Dame 86
3. Stanford 85
4. Vanderbilt 81
5. Northwestern 80
(tie)Virginia 80
7. Boston College 77
(tie)SMU 77
9. Penn State 75
10. Illinois 71
(tie)Rice 71
(tie)Wake Forest 71
Big East Conference
Men's Basketball
Institution %
1. St. John's 85
2. Notre Dame 80
3. Providence 75
(tie) Villanova 75
5. West Virginia 62
6. Rutgers 56
7. Georgetown 53
8. Miami 50
(tie) Seton Hall 50
10. Boston College 47
11. Pittsburgh 40
12. Connecticut 29
13. Syracuse 25
Female Student-Athletes
Institution %
1. Boston College 96
2. Northwestern 95
3. Notre Dame 93
4. Duke 92
(tie) Virginia 92
6. Michigan 91
7. Rice 90
8. Stanford 89
(tie) Vanderbilt 89
10. Virginia Tech 88
Football Student-Athletes
Institution %
1. Duke 93
2. Vanderbilt 85
3. Boston College 83
4. Northwestern 81
5. Notre Dame 80
6. Oregon State 78
7. Illinois 77
(tie) SMU 77
9. Penn State 74
(tie) Tulane 74
(tie) Virginia 74
African-American
Student-Athletes
Institution %
1. Duke 94
2. Stanford 83
3. Notre Dame 82
4. Vanderbilt 81
5. Virginia 79
(tie) Northwestern 79
7. SMU 76
8. Penn State 72
9. Rice 71
10 Oregon State 70
All statistics based on the 1988-91 entering classes for Division I-A institutions
