Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's 100% Men's Basketball Graduation Rate Cited in USA TODAY
9/28/2006 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 28, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Thursday's edition of USA TODAY reported on student-athlete Graduation Success Rate (GSR) data released by the NCAA, and the national newspaper cited Bucknell's men's basketball team as being one of only 17 in the nation -- and one of two top-25 programs -- to boast a perfect 100-percent rate.
Bucknell annually ranks among the national leaders in graduation rates, and the latest report was no different, as 19 Bison programs achieved 100-percent GSRs, factoring in students who entered school during the four-year period between 1996-99.
USA TODAY rearranged its final top-25 coaches' poll from 2005-06 to reflect rankings basked on GSR, and Bucknell, which finished 25th in the final poll after a record-setting 27-5 season, vaulted all the way to No. 1, alongside Florida, which also had a 100-percent figure.
In addition to men's basketball, Bucknell's baseball, field hockey, volleyball, softball, men's cross country/indoor and outdoor track and field, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's water polo and women's swimming all achieved GSR scores of 100. Football, at 95 percent, and women's basketball, at 93 percent, also had scores ranking very highly on a national scale. The national football average for I-AA institutions was 64 percent.
Bucknell sponsors 27 intercollegiate sports, including 14 for women, at the Division I level (I-AA football). It is a charter member of the Patriot League and has won the league's all-sports championship in 12 of the 16 years it has been contested, including 2005-06. Bucknell ranks fourth in Division I in producing Academic All-Americans.
