Greensboro, NC – The Atlantic Coast Conference’s collective high level of academic success is again reflected by the NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report released on Tuesday.
The ACC continues to lead peer conferences with an average graduation rate of 92 percent – matching the conference’s average GSR achieved a year ago and two points higher than this year’s national average of 90 percent. Other key notes for the ACC in comparison to peer conferences:
- Twenty-one ACC teams achieved GSR scores of 100 in the sports of men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.
- Eight ACC men’s basketball teams earned higher than the Division I basketball GSR average, tying for the most among Power 5 conferences. Clemson, Duke, Miami, Virginia and Wake Forest posted GSR scores of 100. The five ACC men’s basketball teams with perfect scores also match the most of any Power 5 conference.
- Eleven ACC football teams earned higher than the FBS football GSR average, tying for most among Power 5 conferences.
- In the sport of football, the ACC remains the only conference to have multiple teams register GSR scores of 90 or higher every year since 2005. Duke (97), Louisville (94), Boston College (90) and Virginia (90) reached that plateau in this year’s report.
- Eleven ACC women’s basketball teams earned higher than the Division I women’s basketball GSR average, also tying for most among Power 5 conferences.
- This marks the 12th straight year that the ACC has had at least four women’s basketball programs score 100, making it the only peer conference to do so. Nine ACC teams – Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse and Virginia – hit the century mark in the latest report.
- Ten ACC baseball teams earned higher than the Division I GSR baseball average, tying for the most among Power 5 conferences. Clemson, Duke, NC State, Notre Dame, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest each registered a 100 GSR. The seven ACC baseball teams with perfect scores are the most of any Power 5 conference.
Tuesday’s report is based on information obtained from the 2020 NCAA Graduation Rate Report. This is the most recent graduating class for which the required six years of information is available. A graduation rate (percent) is based on a comparison of the number of students who entered a college or university and the number of those who graduated within six years. For example, if 100 students entered and 60 graduated, the graduation rate is 60 percent.
It should be noted that graduation rates are affected by a number of factors: some students transfer to another college, some may be dismissed for academic deficiencies, some may have to work part-time and need more than six years to graduate.
The Graduation Success Rate (GSR) subtracts students from the entering cohort who are considered allowable exclusions (those who either die or become personally disabled, those who leave school to join the armed forces, foreign services or attend a church mission) as well as those who would have been academically eligible to compete had they returned to the institution.