Bears Tie School-Record Graduation Success Rate

[Pirtle, Krista]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Dec. 9, 2021

Bears Tie School-Record Graduation Success Rate
Seven teams record program-best GSR
For more information contact: Krista Pirtle, 254-447-8610, Krista_Pirtle at baylor.edu<mailto:Krista_Pirtle at baylor.edu>


WACO, Texas – For the second-straight year, Baylor tied its school-record overall score of 94 in Graduate Success Rate (GSR). This marks the eighth-straight year and 12th time overall that the Bears have led the Big 12 in GSR, according to data released by the NCAA.



BU is second in the state of Texas behind Rice (95) and is No. 14 nationally among Power Five schools.



Iowa State (93) is second in the Big 12, followed by Kansas State (92) and Kansas (90). Oklahoma (89) and Texas (89) are tied for fifth, with TCU (87), West Virginia (86), Oklahoma State (85) and Texas Tech (83) rounding out the group.

Baylor, which has finished first or second among Big 12 schools in composite GSR 13 times in the last 15 years, also paced the Big 12 in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.



“Baylor is full of high-achieving student-athletes,” said Ramone Cooper, Associate AD for Academic Services. “Their commitment to academic excellence is what drew me to the university. We are fortunate to attract students who take their academics so seriously. Having tied a department-wide GSR personal best for the second year in a row is emblematic of our students’ buy-in on meeting the Baylor standard.”

Seven of Baylor's programs earned a perfect GSR score of 100, including baseball, men's golf, women's golf, soccer, softball, women's tennis and volleyball.



It marked the second-straight year that baseball received a GSR of 100. For men's golf, it is the 10th-straight year they have received a GSR of 100, ninth-straight for women's golf, ninth-straight for women's tennis, fifth-straight for women's soccer and third-straight for volleyball. It’s the fifth overall time softball has received a GSR of 100 and first time since 2011.

Baseball (100), men's XC/track and field (89), men's golf (100), women's golf (100), soccer (100), softball (100), volleyball (100) and women's tennis (100) boasted the top scores in the Big 12 in their respective sports.

Overall, two sports showed improvement in their GSR since the 2019-20 report, along with eight others holding steady.

“Graduation as the expectation for our student-athletes continues to be our mindset, and these numbers are evidence of that,” said Aaron Tebo, Assistant AD for Academic Services. “But that would not be obtainable without the outstanding support from our Baylor faculty, coaches and administration and incredible work being done by our SACE Academic Services team, including our Learning Specialists, Tutor Coordinator, and Academic Coaches on a daily basis. It is truly remarkable seeing our student-athletes enter as freshmen and then allow us the opportunity to pour into them, leading them to graduation and helping prepare champions for life.”

The GSR was developed to more accurately assess the academic performance of student-athletes. The rate holds institutions accountable for students that transfer into their institution, unlike the federal graduation rate. The GSR also accounts for midyear enrollees. Under the calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing students who leave in good academic standing. The outgoing transfers are included in the receiving institution's GSR cohort. The NCAA began compiling these figures with the entering freshmen class of 1995.

The 2020-21 federal graduation rate for the Bears is 73 percent, highest in the Big 12 and equal to the year prior. Baylor has finished either first or second in the federal graduation rate report 15 times in the league's 26-year history, produced the league's top mark in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2021 and has graduated at least 60 percent of its student-athletes 23 times.

Sport-Specific Highlights:

Baseball: 100 percent for the second-straight year after reaching the mark for the first time in program history a year ago. Atop the Big 12 as the only team in the league at 100. One of two teams in the state at 100 (Rice).



Men’s XC/Track and Field: GSR of 89 leads the Big 12.



Men’s Golf: 100 percent GSR for 10-straight years.



Women’s Golf: 100 percent GSR for nine-straight years.



Soccer: 100 percent GSR for five-straight years.



Softball: 100 percent GSR for first time in 10 years.



Women’s Tennis: 100 percent GSR for nine-straight years.



Volleyball: 100 percent for third-straight year.





www.BaylorBears.com




Krista Pirtle | Associate Director of Athletics Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-447-8610

[signature_1415018582]<http://www.baylorbears.com/>

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