Feb. 16, 2007

NCAA Graduation Report/Pac-10 Comparison in PDF Format
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PULLMAN, Wash - Washington State University's student-athlete graduation rate places the school in the upper echelon of the Pacific-10 Conference according to the 2006 NCAA Graduation Report, which was recently released.

"One of the benchmarks we have established in the department is to maintain, and always strive to improve, the quality of the student-athlete experience at the University," WSU Director of Athletics Jim Sterk said. "We take great pride with how WSU ranks in the Pac-10, a conference that is made up of highly regarded academic institutions."

A highlight in the report is that over the last 10 years, the graduation rate of WSU student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility is 92 percent, which is second in the Pac-10, only behind Stanford's 97 percent rate.

Over a four-year period of entering freshman classes from 1996-99, Washington State Athletics is positioned high in comparison to the other Pac-10 schools in several categories related to graduation rate. For instance, WSU is ranked fourth in the conference in the all student-athlete graduation rate (behind Stanford, Washington, California), and WSU is one of four conference institutions to graduate all student-athletes at a higher rate than all University students (others: ASU, Arizona, OSU).

In addition, WSU ranks second in the conference in male student-athlete graduation rate, behind Stanford; WSU is the only conference institution that graduates male student-athletes at a higher rate than all University male students; WSU ranks second in the conference in African-American student-athlete graduation rate, behind Stanford University; and WSU is ranked second in the conference in graduating baseball student-athletes, behind Stanford. WSU is the only institution to graduate baseball student-athletes at a higher rate than all University male students.

"Our vision is to provide one of the best student-athlete experiences in the nation, and these rankings demonstrate that we are making great progress in achieving this vision," Sterk said.