March 23, 2004

Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858.

Smart 16: KU has top graduation rate among Sweet 16 teams

LAWRENCE -- The Washington Post reported today that the University of Kansas leads the Sweet 16 field in men's basketball graduation rates.

According to the post, only four teams -- KU, Duke, Vanderbilt and Xavier -- posted graduation rates of 50 percent or better in men's basketball, according to the latest graduation data issued by the NCAA.

Kansas is number one with a 73 percent graduation rate. Duke and Xavier each reported 67 percent rates; Vanderbilt, 62 percent.

The average graduation rate among all 300-plus Division I men's basketball teams is 42 percent. The graduation rate for all students at Division I schools is 57 percent.

Thanks to the Chronicle of Higher Education, here are this year's Sweet 16 matchups= with current team records and graduation rates for players who entered college from 1993 to 1997:

Thursday's Games

Saint Joseph's U. (29-1, 44%) vs. Wake Forest U. (21-9, 46%)
U. of Pittsburgh (31-4, 30%*) vs. Oklahoma State U. (29-3, 43%*)
U. of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (19-13, 13%*) vs. Syracuse U. (23-7, 40%)
Vanderbilt U. (23-9, 62%) vs. U. of Connecticut (29-6, 27%)

Friday's Games

U. of Alabama at Birmingham (22-9, 43%*) vs. U. of Kansas (23-8, 73%)
Georgia Institute of Technology (25-9, 27%) vs. U. of Nevada at Reno (25-8, 20%*)
Duke U. (29-5, 67%) vs. U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (26-6, 46%)
U. of Texas at Austin (25-7, 38%) vs. Xavier U. (25-10, 67%)

* Data for athletes who entered college from 1992 to 1996; 1993-97 figures were suppressed by the Department of Education.

See Washingtonpost.com article (free registration required): "Graduation Rates Lagging for Advancing Teams"