Illinois Athletics Records 93 Percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate Score

NCAA Release

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Nine University of Illinois athletics programs earned perfect Graduation Success Rate (GSR) scores, as part of Wednesday's GSR and Federal Graduation Rate (FGS) reports released by the NCAA. The Fighting Illini earned an overall GSR of 93, the seventh-straight year that the Illini have posted an overall GSR over 90, continuing to demonstrate Illinois' elite ranking among the Division I schools for its combination of athletic and academic excellence.

The data is based on the 2014-2017 cohorts, ending with freshmen that began at the University of Illinois in 2017-18. Data is calculated after student-athletes are given six years to graduate following their first-time enrollment at a given university.

The nine Illini programs that posted perfect GSR scores of 100 were men's golf, men's gymnastics, wrestling, women's basketball, women's golf, women's gymnastics, soccer, women's tennis and volleyball. Another five programs scored 90 or higher - baseball (95), men's tennis (92), women's cross country and track & field (93), softball (94) and women's swim & dive (96).

GSR HIGHLIGHTS

» 14 of 17 Illini programs scored at or above the Division I average GSR (90) for their respective sport.
» Women's gymnastics has posted a GSR of 100 in all 20 years since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). Illinois is one of eight perfect GSRs among Big Ten women's gymnastics programs.
» Men's golf posted its 13th straight GSR of 100 and 14th overall since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). Illinois is one of seven perfect GSRs among Big Ten men's golf programs.
» Women's basketball posted its 11th straight GSR of 100 and 12th since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). Illinois is one of 10 perfect GSRs among Big Ten women's basketball programs.
» Women's tennis posted its 10th straight GSR of 100 and 12th since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). Illinois is one of 13 perfect GSRs among Big Ten women's tennis programs.
» Baseball posted its third straight GSR of 95 or better, and sixth overall since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). Illinois is one of seven Big Ten baseball programs to score 95 or better.
» Softball posted its seventh straight GSR of 94 or better, and 14th overall since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort).
» Women's golf posted its sixth consecutive GSR of 100 and 16th overall since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). Illinois is one of 11 perfect GSRs among Big Ten women's golf programs.
» Volleyball posted its sixth straight GSR of 100 and ninth overall since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). Illinois is one of eight perfect GSRs among Big Ten volleyball programs.
» Men's tennis scored at least 92, marking the 11th time overall since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort).
» Football (85) posted a GSR above the national average of 83.
» Men's basketball (80) scored 80 or better for the seventh-consecutive year.
» Men's cross country/track and field (86) scored above the national average of 84. 
» Soccer has scored a GSR at or above 90 in all 20 years since the report began in 2005 (198 cohort). It was also the second time in the last three years that soccer posted a perfect GSR.
» Wrestling scored its second perfect GSR in the last three years and well above the national average of 87. Illinois is one of six perfect GSRs among Big Ten wrestling programs.
» Women's cross country/track has posted a GSR at or above 90 in all 20 years since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). 
» Women's swimming and diving has posted a GSR at or above 96 in all 20 years since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort). 
» Men's gymnastics posted its third-straight perfect GSR and has posted a GSR of 88 or better in all 20 years since the report began in 2005 (1998 cohort).

FGR vs. GSR

GSR begins with the federal cohort, and adds transfer students, midyear enrollees, and non-scholarship students (in specified cases) to the sample. Student-athletes who leave an institution while in good academic standing before exhausting athletics eligibility are removed from the cohort of their initial institution. This rate provides a more complete and accurate look at actual student-athlete success by taking into account the full variety of participants in Division I athletics and tracking their academic outcomes. 

FGR assesses only first-time full-time freshmen in a given cohort and only counts them as academic successes if they graduate from their institution of initial enrollment within a six-year period. It makes no accommodation for transfers into or out of an institution. The rate is very limited because it ignores the large number of transfer students in higher education, but it is still the only rate that allows a direct comparison between student-athletes and the general student-body.