USF Athletics

Athletics Posts 84% Graduation Success Rate

November 17, 2020

Four Sports earn a perfect 100 percent GSR
 
TAMPA, NOV. 17, 2020 – University of South Florida student-athletes continued to display excellence in the classroom, as the Bulls posted an 84 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the latest data released for all Division I institutions by the NCAA on Tuesday as part of the annual NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program.
 
The 84 percent Graduation Success Rate encompasses USF scholarship student-athletes that entered school from 2010-13 and graduated within a six-year period. The score marked the seventh straight year USF Athletics has posted a GSR of 82 percent or better.
 
 "We are very proud that we continue to see student-athletes achieve excellence in the classroom and graduate at a very high rate," USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said. "The commitment of our coaches, administration and our excellent Academic Services staff continues to provide a strong foundation and outstanding support for Bulls student-athletes that continue to strive to become champions in the classroom, the community and in competition,"
 
For the second straight year, the 84 percent GSR nearly matched USF Athletics record 86 percent GSR posted in 2016.
 
Four programs posted a perfect 100 percent GSR and nine of 14 USF sports programs in the NCAA report posted an 80 percent or better GSR with all women's teams logging a 90 percent or better score.
 
Programs with a perfect 100 score included men's tennis, women's tennis, women's golf and softball. The same four programs also posted perfect scores in 2018 and 2019.
 
Head coach Ken Eriksen's softball program posted a 100 percent GSR score for the ninth straight time and 11th time in the 16 years of GSR reporting.  The women's tennis program, under head coach Cristina Moros, had a perfect GSR score for the seventh straight time and 10th time in program history.
 
The women's golf program, under head coach Erika Brennan, logged a 100 percent GSR for the fifth straight season and USF Athletics record 12^th time in program history. The men's tennis program, under head coach Ashley Fisher, posted a program record 100 percent GSR score for the third straight year, which marked the seventh straight year the program's GSR score rose or held steady at 100.
 
Other highlights from the latest GSR report included a record 97 percent from the women's track and field and cross country team, bettering the team's previous mark of 94 percent set in 2018 and marking the eighth straight year over 90 percent. The conference champion Women's soccer team was over 90 percent for the sixth straight year. The baseball program posted an 88 percent GSR, marking the fourth straight year with a gain and the program's highest since 92 percent in 2002.
 
USF has graduated nearly 350 student-athletes since 2016-17 and has posted an overall annual department grade-point average in excess of 3.0 for a program-record five straight years and 11 straight semesters. In recent NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) data, a record 13 USF programs logged perfect single-year scores and the department posted an overall record 995 single-year score.
 
The Graduation Success Rate includes data about the most recent six-year graduating class of student-athletes receiving athletics aid and entering college as freshmen in 2013-14.  The GSR is designed to show the proportion of student-athletes graduating within in a six-year window,  accounting for transferring student-athletes coming into the institution and student-athletes leaving the institution in good standing.

The most recent data is based on the percentage of student-athletes who entered college in 2010-13 and earned a degree. The NCAA developed the Division I Graduation Success Rate in response to college and university presidents who wanted graduation data that more accurately reflect the mobility among all college students today. Both the Graduation Success Rate and the Academic Progress Rate account for the academic outcomes of student-athletes who transfer from one institution to another.

About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program began in 1965 and is in its 55th season in 2020-21. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 19 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, and own 120 conference titles overall. The Bulls posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for the fifth straight year in 2019-20 and have posted a program record 11 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0. USF has had nearly 350 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
 
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