Sept. 10, 2001
WACO, Texas -
For the fourth time in the six-year history of the Big 12 Conference,
and the second-consecutive year, Baylor University posted the highest
student-athlete graduation rate of any school in the league, according to
figures released Monday by the NCAA.
The Bears' most recent graduation rates, for the freshman class of 1994, is
67 percent. That figure is identical to Baylor's general student population
graduation rate of 67 percent. Baylor also graduated 69 percent of its male
student-athletes, 63 percent of female student-athletes, 67 percent of
football student-athletes and 75 percent of men's basketball
student-athletes.
"These figures confirm success in an important facet of our mission,"
Athletic Director Tom Stanton said. "It's important to the Baylor family
that our student-athletes are winners not only on the playing field, but
also in the classroom. We have made classroom success a priority by
recruiting student-athletes who take both their academics and athletics
seriously."
The NCAA graduation-rates study has tracked entering classes of
student-athletes annually since 1991. The study is a product of the Student
Right To Know Act, a federal law that requires institutions to provide
graduation-rate data to prospective student-athletes, parents, high-school
coaches and counselors as part of the recruiting process.
