Athletes graduate at big rate

Student-athletes at the Division I level, representing the largest athletic programs in the nation, continue to graduate at a slightly higher rate than the overall student body, according to statistics released Thursday by the NCAA.

Sixty-three percent of athletes who entered college in 1999 earned their degrees within six years, as compared to 61% of all students nationwide, the report stated.

The NCAA also produced statistics for its Graduation Success Rate which, unlike the traditional measure, accounts for students who transfer from one school to finish their studies at another.

The GSR rate for Division I athletes was 77%. Because the federal government does not include transfers in its rate, no overall comparison was available.

NCAA President Myles Brand used the report to sound a defiant note against what he called “the myth that student-athletes are poor students. I have to tell you, it’s one of my greatest frustrations.”

The former Indiana University president has introduced penalties for teams that stumble in the classroom and says more attention is being paid to the types of athletes recruited.

Incoming Division I athletes now have an average SAT score of 1090 as compared to an average of 1040 among all students, Brand said.

“We got the campuses, the athletic directors and the coaches to change the climate,” he said.

Among local universities, UCLA showed a dramatic surge, graduating 74% of athletes who began school in 1999. It remains to be seen whether the trend will continue for an athletic department that averaged 62% over the last four reports.

USC graduated 60% of its 1999 incoming class, down from its four-class average of 61%.

Both schools hovered around the NCAA average of 55% in football, with UCLA slightly above at 59%. In basketball, UCLA graduated all of its 1999 freshmen and USC graduated 50%. The NCAA average was 46%.

While both schools faired relatively well in comparison to national averages, they faltered in what NCAA officials characterized as another key category: The percentage of athletes who graduate as compared to the overall rate on that particular campus.

At UCLA, even the elevated 74% athletic rate came in below the overall 87%. At USC, the 60% athletic rate compared to 83% overall.

Pepperdine stood out among Los Angeles-area Division I schools in this respect, graduating 78% of its athletes in comparison to an overall 80% rate.

david.wharton@latimes.com