Ohio State student-athletes again show success in academic completion report

Ohio State student-athletes again show success in academic completion report

Overall single-year and rolling scores match best in department history

The Ohio State University's student-athletes and athletics programs have continued to post outstanding results academically, as demonstrated in the Graduation Success Rate data released Wednesday by the NCAA.

In the most recent report, the Buckeyes matched last year's numbers for the school-best single-year and four-year rolling scores of 94 and 93, respectively.

The NCAA established the GSR in 2002 as a means of understanding student-athletes' academic completion rates more concretely. It does so by accounting for two groups that play an increasingly prominent role in collegiate athletics: mid-year, first-time enrollees and transfers. This year's numbers include the 2014-15 to 2017-18 freshman cohorts.

"Last year, Ohio State posted all-time highs in both the single-year (94) and multiyear (93) GSR scores," Faculty Athletics Representative John E. Davidson said. "By matching those scores this year, our student-athletes showed that they hold this high achievement to be our standard."

Thirteen programs had a GSR of 100: artistic swimming, women's cross country/track and field, men's fencing, women's fencing, field hockey, men's golf, women's golf, women's lacrosse, rifle, women's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis and men's volleyball.

In addition, 10 programs had GSR scores of 90 or better: baseball, men's cross country/track and field, women's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, women's rowing, men's soccer, softball, men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving and wrestling.

"Coaches recruit with the rigors of academics at Ohio State firmly in mind," Davidson said, "and they deserve credit for creating team cultures that emphasize educational success as part of overall athletic success. The academic support staff in SASSO does a marvelous job of supporting that success, but ultimately the dedication of these remarkable student-athletes drives it all."

In all, 11 of 16 men's teams and 12 of 15 women's teams categorized in the report improved or maintained their GSR. Additionally, 13 men's teams and 15 women's teams categorized in the report improved or maintained their single-year score.

For the third year in a row, the football program had its program-best score, posting an 89 to exceed the 87 set last year.

More Ohio State News