Bucknell Athletics Once Again Ranks Among National Leaders in NCAA Graduation Success Rate
11/19/2025 1:16:00 PM | General
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The NCAA issued its latest graduation rates report on Wednesday, and Bucknell Athletics continues to excel in these important scholar-athlete metrics. Under the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) formula, 19 of Bucknell's 27 varsity programs maintained perfect scores of 100 for student-athletes entering college from 2015-18, which led to an overall GSR of 97 percent.
Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Education's more-restrictive graduation-rate standards, Bucknell ranks in a tie for eighth nationally with a four-class average of 87 percent.
Eight Division I institutions produced GSR scores of 99 percent, and eight others came in at 98 percent. Bucknell, which tied for best in the nation at 99 percent two years ago, was just a notch below this time around at 97 percent. All 10 Patriot League institutions came in at 91 percent or better.
The GSR differs from the federal graduation-rate formula in that the GSR factors in transfer students who do graduate and does not penalize schools for losing transfers who leave in good academic standing.
The following Bison programs have perfect 100 percent GSR ratings in the latest report: baseball, women's basketball, men's and women's cross country/track & field, field hockey, women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming & diving, and men's and women's tennis. In addition, the Bison football (95%) program was well ahead of the national average of 79 percent, and men's swimming and diving (94%), volleyball (91%) and women's water polo (91%) also eclipsed 90 percent.
The national GSR for the entering class of 2018 was 90 percent, one point off the all-time high. Part of this cohort attended college during the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of the transfer portal and one-time transfer exception, and the onset of permissible NIL transactions.
Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Education's more-restrictive graduation-rate standards, Bucknell ranks in a tie for eighth nationally with a four-class average of 87 percent.
Eight Division I institutions produced GSR scores of 99 percent, and eight others came in at 98 percent. Bucknell, which tied for best in the nation at 99 percent two years ago, was just a notch below this time around at 97 percent. All 10 Patriot League institutions came in at 91 percent or better.
The GSR differs from the federal graduation-rate formula in that the GSR factors in transfer students who do graduate and does not penalize schools for losing transfers who leave in good academic standing.
The following Bison programs have perfect 100 percent GSR ratings in the latest report: baseball, women's basketball, men's and women's cross country/track & field, field hockey, women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming & diving, and men's and women's tennis. In addition, the Bison football (95%) program was well ahead of the national average of 79 percent, and men's swimming and diving (94%), volleyball (91%) and women's water polo (91%) also eclipsed 90 percent.
The national GSR for the entering class of 2018 was 90 percent, one point off the all-time high. Part of this cohort attended college during the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of the transfer portal and one-time transfer exception, and the onset of permissible NIL transactions.
By the federal guidelines, these Bison programs boast perfect 100-percent graduation rates: baseball, field hockey, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, men's and women's tennis, and men's water polo.
The Patriot League recorded a 94% GSR and 83% FGR. The League's 83 percent FGR marked the best score in the nation for the 13th consecutive year, finishing 15 points above the national overall average (68%). The League's 94% GSR tied for the third-best mark among DI conferences and four points above the national average. The Patriot League has been among the NCAA DI top conferences in GSR each year since the NCAA began publicly releasing the data.
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