UL Lafayette’s student-athletes have a higher graduation rate – 75 percent – than peers in Louisiana and the Sun Belt Conference.
That distinction is cited in an NCAA Graduation Rates Report released in October.
Western Kentucky has the second-highest student-athlete graduation rate, 70 percent, in the Sun Belt Conference, while the University of New Orleans’ 73 percent graduation rate for student-athletes is second highest in Louisiana.
The NCAA report tracks the federal graduation rate, which is the number of student-athletes receiving athletics-related financial aid who enter an institution in a specific academic year and graduate from the same institution within six academic years. Athletics aid is a grant, scholarship, tuition waiver or other financial assistance from a college or university that is awarded on the basis of a student’s athletic ability.
The report covers all University students who enrolled in 2006 and graduated by August 2012.
Dr. Jessica Leger, associate athletic director at UL Lafayette, said the high graduation rate is “a testament to the academic commitment demonstrated daily by our student-athletes, coaches and staff.
“The mission of the athletics department is to see our student-athletes graduate and working toward that goal is the focal point of everything that we do.”
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has one of the highest overall graduation rates in the state: 44 percent.
The NCAA Graduation Rates Report also includes the student-athlete graduation success rate. The GSR accounts for student-athletes who received athletics-related financial aid who transfer into an institution. It does not penalize institutions that have student-athletes who choose to transfer out while still in good academic standing.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has a GSR of 74 percent and a class average of 61 percent.
A number of variables may impact student-athlete graduation rates, such as professional opportunities, coaching staff changes, and student-athletes in good academic standing who choose to leave school early.
The NCAA keeps track of graduation statistics for students who receive athletics-related financial aid in one or more of eight sports categories: football, men’s basketball, baseball, men’s track/cross country, men’s other sports and mixed sports, women’s basketball, women’s track/cross country and other women’s sports.
More than 50 percent of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun student-athletes achieved a 3.0 GPA or above for the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters.
Women’s basketball and men’s basketball posted their highest recorded team grades for the Spring 2013 semester, with 3.1 and 2.9 GPAs respectively. The golf team earned a 3.34 GPA for Spring 2013, which beat the record it set for the Fall 2012 semester.