Tulane Athletics ranked No. 12 in the nation for overall Graduation Success Rate in all sports among the 128 Football Bowl Subdivision universities according to the latest data released from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Oct. 30.

Tulane’s overall GSR score of 90 trails only 11 schools: Notre Dame, Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Rice, Boston College, Central Florida, Miami, Alabama and Clemson.

“These are fantastic results,” Tulane Director of Athletics Rick Dickson said. “This validates the commitment and dedication of our student-athletes, coaches and particularly our academic services staff.”

Men’s and women’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s track and field squad, women’s golf, women’s swimming and diving, and volleyball all received a 100 percent graduation rate.

Tulane baseball recorded an 89 percent rate, while the Wave’s women’s cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field squads had an 87 percent rate. Green Wave football’s student-athletes had a GSR of 85.

Caltha Seymour, the director of academic services for student athletes, said the high rates are a testament to the commitment to academic excellence from Tulane student athletes.

“[The high ranking] is something we celebrate and continue to strive for from our student athlete population,” Seymour said. “Our ranking reflects the standard we’ve set and we’re grateful and humbled by the national recognition. We expect our student-athlete population to strive for academic excellence at the highest level with an increased level of achievement and integrity.” 

Seymour said the NCAA began tracking GSR in 1995 to rank all the schools and how they’re graduating students. Since the first recorded rate in 1995, the overall rate has increased 10 percent, which translates to nearly 14,000 more graduates than if the rate had stayed the same.

“[Tulane] is honored to be ranked No. 12 in the country,” Seymour said. “The student athlete population is very committed to academics and to be ranked that high is a tremendous accomplishment. The consistent commitment to academic excellence from our student-athletes, coaches, support staff and athletic administration is very commendable.”

Seymour said the university and athletic administration has made a strong commitment to student athlete success in the classroom by increasing staff, supporting program initiatives, and providing additional resources. 

One of these resources includes The Academic Services Center for Student-Athletes. The Center provides resources to ensure student-athletes are set-up for success, and its programing includes individual counseling and academic coaching, an academic excellence program, scholar-athlete program, and life after Tulane workshops.

“Tulane is an exceptional institution of higher education which continues to cultivate a high level of academic achievement and integrity,” Seymour said. “Our student-athletes welcome and embrace the unique challenge of excelling in sport, scholarship, and service.”