Rutgers Athletics set a school record with an overall Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 91 in the NCAA’s annual report, released today for all Division I institutions. Nine Scarlet Knight programs produced perfect rates of 100, while 19 out of 20 teams earned marks of 80 or above.
Rutgers Athletics has earned an overall rate of 85 or above for 12 consecutive years.
“This year’s record-setting GSR score is a testament our Scarlet Knights’ desire to not only leave a mark in their sport but also in the classroom,” said Athletic Director Pat Hobbs. “When you prioritize academic success and make the necessary investments to meet the high academic standards of Rutgers University, the results in the classroom will follow. Our student-athletes, coaches and academic advisors are all on the relentless pursuit of excellence and it shows.”
All 20 programs had GSR totals at or above the federal rate within their respective sport in this year’s report, highlighted by 11 of 12 women’s teams with rates of 93 or above.
Fourteen of 20 programs either maintained or were above their GSR from last year.
Rutgers men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, field hockey, gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, women’s swimming & diving and women’s tennis all achieved a perfect GSR of 100.
Gymnastics has earned a perfect rate in every NCAA report to date, marking 17 consecutive years. Women’s lacrosse (seven), field hockey (six), women’s basketball and women’s swimming & diving (five), women’s golf (four) and women’s tennis (three) have also maintained perfect rates.
Men’s golf (100), wrestling (94) and men’s soccer (88) all set or tied their program-record rates.
Each year, the NCAA publicly announces the GSR of all Division I institutions. This year’s numbers reflect an average for students who entered college from 2011-14. The GSR begins with the federal cohort and adds transfer students, mid-year enrollees, and non-scholarship students (in specified cases) to the sample. Student-athletes who leave an institution while in good academic standing before exhausting athletics eligibility are removed from the cohort of their initial institution. This rate provides a more complete and accurate look at actual student-athlete success by taking into account the full variety of participants in Division I athletics and tracking their academic outcomes.
A school-record 376 student-athletes of at least sophomore standing earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21 with 194 spring honorees, 59 winter recognitions and 123 fall acknowledgments. Among them were a school-record 188 Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholars with a minimum GPA of 3.70 or above for the academic year.