While 12 of the teams participating in this year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, known as March Madness, and seven in the National Invitation Tournament had graduation success rates of 100 percent, the teams did not do as well on a federal measure of success. Many teams had federal graduation rates for their men’s basketball teams that were lower — sometimes far lower — than those for the college’s male students, whether athletes or not. In contrast, three men’s basketball teams reported federal graduation rates that were 20 or more percentage points higher than the graduation rates for all first-time, full-time degree-seeking male students at the institution. They are Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Montana at Missoula, and Northern Kentucky University. Colleges are ranked first by their team’s graduation success rate, then by the team’s federal graduation rate. The differences in the methods of measuring academic performance are explained in the note below.
NCAA men’s basketball “March Madness” tournament teams
| 1. | Bucknell U. | 100% | 92% | 89% |
| 2. | Davidson College | 100% | 82% | 93% |
| 3. | Creighton U. | 100% | 70% | 73% |
| 4. | Duke U. | 100% | 67% | 93% |
| 5. | U. of Alabama at Tuscaloosa | 100% | 64% | 63% |
| 6. | Villanova U. | 100% | 60% | 89% |
| 7. | Kansas State U. | 100% | 58% | 58% |
| 8. | Wright State U. | 100% | 55% | 37% |
| 9. | U. of Arizona | 100% | 47% | 57% |
| 10. | Gonzaga U. | 100% | 36% | 82% |
| 11. | U. of Kansas | 100% | 33% | 58% |
| 12. | U. of Pennsylvania | 100% | n/a | 94% |
| 13. | Purdue U. at West Lafayette | 92% | 79% | 71% |
| 14. | U. of Miami | 92% | 73% | 78% |
| 15. | South Dakota State U. | 91% | 70% | 53% |
| 16. | Xavier U. (Ohio) | 91% | 64% | 73% |
| 17. | U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor | 90% | 64% | 89% |
| 18. | Seton Hall U. | 90% | 50% | 61% |
| 19. | St. Bonaventure U. | 90% | 45% | 62% |
| 20. | U. of Tennessee at Knoxville | 89% | 50% | 66% |
| 21. | Clemson U. | 88% | 58% | 78% |
| 22. | Loyola U. Chicago | 88% | 38% | 73% |
| 23. | Iona College | 87% | 40% | 59% |
| 24. | U. of Maryland-Baltimore County | 86% | 45% | 58% |
| 25. | U. of North Carolina at Greensboro | 85% | 56% | 50% |
| 26. | Florida State U. | 85% | 54% | 75% |
| 27. | U. of Montana at Missoula | 82% | 73% | 43% |
| 28. | Butler U. | 82% | 67% | 72% |
| 29. | Texas Tech U. | 80% | 60% | 56% |
| 30. | Virginia Tech | 80% | 54% | 80% |
| 31. | West Virginia U. | 80% | 45% | 53% |
| 32. | Texas A&M U. at College Station | 80% | 33% | 75% |
| 33. | U. of Virginia | 78% | 47% | 92% |
| 34. | U. of Kentucky | 78% | 22% | 58% |
| 35. | Texas Southern U. | 75% | 33% | 15% |
| 36. | U. of Arkansas at Fayetteville | 75% | 31% | 59% |
| 37. | Ohio State U. | 75% | 27% | 81% |
| 38. | California State U. at Fullerton | 75% | 0% | 52% |
| 39. | U. at Buffalo | 73% | 70% | 69% |
| 40. | U. of Florida | 73% | 44% | 84% |
| 41. | U. of Missouri at Columbia | 73% | 42% | 65% |
| 42. | U. of Nevada at Reno | 73% | 31% | 50% |
| 43. | Michigan State U. | 71% | 38% | 76% |
| 44. | U. of Texas at Austin | 71% | 36% | 77% |
| 45. | Marshall U. | 70% | 50% | 41% |
| 46. | College of Charleston | 70% | 43% | 64% |
| 47. | U. of Rhode Island | 69% | 46% | 58% |
| 48. | Texas Christian U. | 67% | 40% | 73% |
| 49. | Stephen F. Austin State U. | 67% | 36% | 37% |
| 50. | Lipscomb U. | 64% | 38% | 59% |
| 51. | Murray State U. | 64% | 22% | 45% |
| 52. | Wichita State U. | 63% | 44% | 41% |
| 53. | U. of Oklahoma at Norman | 63% | 27% | 62% |
| 54. | Auburn U. | 60% | 44% | 67% |
| 55. | Syracuse U. | 60% | 40% | 79% |
| 56. | New Mexico State U. at Las Cruces | 60% | 29% | 40% |
| 57. | Georgia State U. | 58% | 57% | 47% |
| 58. | Radford U. | 57% | 15% | 52% |
| 59. | North Carolina State U. | 56% | 29% | 73% |
| 60. | Providence College | 55% | 33% | 86% |
| 61. | San Diego State U. | 50% | 25% | 64% |
| 62. | U. of Cincinnati | 47% | 36% | 63% |
| 63. | U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 40% | 31% | 88% |
| 64. | U. of Houston | 40% | 8% | 44% |
| | Median for all 64 teams | 79% | 44% | 64% |
•••
National Invitation Tournament teams
| 1. | Stanford U. | 100% | 91% | 93% |
| 2. | U. of Notre Dame | 100% | 82% | 95% |
| 3. | U. of Vermont | 100% | 79% | 74% |
| 4. | Pennsylvania State U. at University Park | 100% | 58% | 83% |
| 5. | Wagner College | 100% | 50% | 58% |
| 6. | Middle Tennessee State U. | 100% | 44% | 39% |
| 7. | U. of Utah | 100% | 25% | 61% |
| 8. | Harvard U. | 95% | n/a | 97% |
| 9. | Rider U. | 92% | 75% | 62% |
| 10. | U. of Washington | 92% | 69% | 81% |
| 11. | U. of Louisville | 91% | 64% | 51% |
| 12. | Boise State U. | 86% | 40% | 35% |
| 13. | Louisiana State U. at Baton Rouge | 82% | 38% | 63% |
| 14. | Saint Mary’s College of California | 81% | 67% | 61% |
| 15. | U. of Louisiana at Lafayette | 78% | 29% | 41% |
| 16. | U. of North Carolina at Asheville | 77% | 64% | 58% |
| 17. | Temple U. | 77% | 62% | 66% |
| 18. | Western Kentucky U. | 75% | 33% | 46% |
| 19. | Oklahoma State U. at Stillwater | 75% | 31% | 57% |
| 20. | Southeastern Louisiana U. | 74% | 80% | 32% |
| 21. | Marquette U. | 73% | 25% | 77% |
| 22. | Boston College | 71% | 33% | 91% |
| 23. | Florida Gulf Coast U. | 70% | 20% | 40% |
| 24. | U. of California at Davis | 69% | 40% | 81% |
| 25. | Brigham Young U. | 67% | 67% | 80% |
| 26. | Northern Kentucky U. | 67% | 60% | 34% |
| 27. | Baylor U. | 62% | 42% | 70% |
| 28. | U. of Nebraska at Lincoln | 62% | 40% | 63% |
| 29. | Hampton U. | 60% | 60% | 55% |
| 30. | Mississippi State U. | 50% | 33% | 58% |
| 31. | U. of Southern California | 50% | 7% | 90% |
| 32. | U. of Oregon | 38% | 25% | 68% |
| | Median for all 32 teams | 77% | 44% | 62% |
Note: The graduation success rate, which was created by the NCAA, includes student-athletes who entered as full-time students from the fall of 2007 to the fall of 2010, or at midyear, or who transferred into the institution during that time, and who received athletic aid during their first term if they were at an institution where athletic aid was offered, and who graduated from the same institution within six years. Those who transferred out while academically eligible to play were excluded from the cohort. The federal graduation rate for men’s basketball teams covers all team members who received athletic aid for any period during their freshman year and who earned a bachelor’s or equivalent degree from the same institution by August 31 of the sixth year after they entered that college as full-time freshmen in the falls of 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010. Students who transferred into the institution were not counted in the cohort, and those who transferred out were counted as not graduating. Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania are marked as “n/a” (not applicable) for the team’s federal graduation rate because Ivy League institutions do not offer athletically related financial aid. Though listed as No. 12, the University of Pennsylvania’s rank among the top 12 is indeterminate. The federal graduation rate for male students covers all full-time, first-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking male students who completed a bachelor’s or equivalent degree at the same institution within six years, after entering in the falls of 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010. Students are excluded from the entering cohort for exceptional reasons, like death or joining the military. Further comparisons are covered here.Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to the list’s editor.
Sources: NCAA (graduation success rates and federal graduation rates for teams); U.S. Department of Education(federal graduation rates for men); Chronicle analysis.