Graduation Success Rate statistics released by NCAA - miserable showing

[ysuindy]

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/resources/latest+news/2011/october/ncaa+grad+rates+top+80+percent

The NCAA released the Graduation Success Rate numbers for 2010-11.  These statistics go back to athletes enrolling in school in 2004.

YSU is well below the average in the categories most will look at, including last in the league for football and basketball

Overall school - average 82%, YSU 69%

FCS Football schools - average 78%, YSU 54%

Men's Basketball - average 68%, YSU 45%.

I understand YSU will never be among the leaders in these stats but I find these numbers embarrassing.  I am sure the constant churn in men's basketball players  hurts that score, but YSU MUST do better.

MVFC football:

South Dakota State  82%
North Dakota State  78%
Northern Iowa  69%
Illinois State 68%
Southern Illinois 68%
Indiana State 66%
Western Illinois 58%
Missouri State 55%
Youngstown State  54%

Horizon League Men's Basketball

UW Green Bay  100% !!!
Detroit  89%
Loyola  88%
Butler 82%
Valparaiso 78%
UW Milwaukee 67%
Cleveland State  64%
UIC  57%
Wright State  50%
YSU  45%

Yes a public school graduating 100%.  Probably the best comp to YSU in terms of campus and student body - Cleveland State at 64%

There are some bright spots at YSU, however only 3 of 14 teams were above the NCAA overall average:  Women's tennis 100%, Women's Swimming 94%, and Women's basketball 93%.

Most of the YSU teams are not getting it done on the playing field in terms of wins and sadly, most of them are not getting it done in the classroom in terms of graduating with a degree.

Thoughts on why these numbers are so bad and what can be done to improve them?

Media members reading this - seems like a great story idea...

[YSUGO]

If a kid quits or transfers to another school does that play in to the numbers?

[pennyguin1]

If a kid quits and never finishes common sense would say it counts against u. I believe if you transfer. The transfer goes against the original school, but counts for the other school. Also sometimes a former athlete eventually finishes way after the playing days are over. Those however aren't factor in.

Then again I have room to talk. It took me 8 yrs to finish my undergrad.

[YsuPride]

Another reason to get rid of Strollo.

[ysubigred]

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/resources/latest+news/2011/october/ncaa+grad+rates+top+80+percent

The NCAA released the Graduation Success Rate numbers for 2010-11.  These statistics go back to athletes enrolling in school in 2004.

YSU is well below the average in the categories most will look at, including last in the league for football and basketball

Overall school - average 82%, YSU 69%

FCS Football schools - average 78%, YSU 54%

Men's Basketball - average 68%, YSU 45%.

I understand YSU will never be among the leaders in these stats but I find these numbers embarrassing.  I am sure the constant churn in men's basketball players  hurts that score, but YSU MUST do better.

MVFC football:

South Dakota State  82%
North Dakota State  78%
Northern Iowa  69%
Illinois State 68%
Southern Illinois 68%
Indiana State 66%
Western Illinois 58%
Missouri State 55%
Youngstown State  54%

Horizon League Men's Basketball

UW Green Bay  100% !!!
Detroit  89%
Loyola  88%
Butler 82%
Valparaiso 78%
UW Milwaukee 67%
Cleveland State  64%
UIC  57%
Wright State  50%
YSU  45%

Yes a public school graduating 100%.  Probably the best comp to YSU in terms of campus and student body - Cleveland State at 64%

There are some bright spots at YSU, however only 3 of 14 teams were above the NCAA overall average:  Women's tennis 100%, Women's Swimming 94%, and Women's basketball 93%.

Most of the YSU teams are not getting it done on the playing field in terms of wins and sadly, most of them are not getting it done in the classroom in terms of graduating with a degree.

Thoughts on why these numbers are so bad and what can be done to improve them?

Media members reading this - seems like a great story idea...

If we were a winning program in these sports I'd say it figures "BUT" this is really a big concern for the school I'm sure!  Football should be on the rise with Wolf and I hope round ball is going to come around also.
 

[YSUfan21]

Another reason to get rid of Strollo.

it aint on strollo
it was bad long before him

[Wick250]

The men and women who play on our athletic teams for four years tend to be successful students who do graduate.  The problems come from those recruits who disappear after a year or two.  These figures suggest that bad grades rather than lack of playing time hastened their departure.  This is not really shocking.  We know that over half of Slocum's recruits leave.  Turnover under Heacock was significant.  We can only hope that the situation will change under Wolford.  These numbers do tell us that the majority of our Olympic coaches are losing too many of their players, and those players are struggling in the classroom.  That is totally unacceptable, especially since most of our Olympic programs cannot win.  If you are going to lose anyway, give the freakin' scholarship to a good student!

[IAA Fan]

The men and women who play on our athletic teams for four years tend to be successful students who do graduate.  The problems come from those recruits who disappear after a year or two.  These figures suggest that bad grades rather than lack of playing time hastened their departure.  This is not really shocking.  We know that over half of Slocum's recruits leave.  Turnover under Heacock was significant.  We can only hope that the situation will change under Wolford.  These numbers do tell us that the majority of our Olympic coaches are losing too many of their players, and those players are struggling in the classroom.  That is totally unacceptable, especially since most of our Olympic programs cannot win.  If you are going to lose anyway, give the freakin' scholarship to a good student!

I like the first part, but do not agree on the Olympic sports comment. They have very high marks. The football team alone fails to graduate more each year than every Olympic athlete combined, followed by baseball, then basketball. We have had high baseball success, we lost 23 players to some form of professional organization in the past 4-years ..a only a few of those, at best, graduated. Also, the huge loss in football players when coach W took over will truly hurt our numbers, as it does for any college football program that changes staff. It is not very often a team sees such a dismantling. Actually I think you will find that coach H did very well in recruiting some brains. Remember, high academic players tend to begin on academic scholarships, and generally are not quite good enough players to be given athletic scholarships. So they do not stay for 4-years.

[Pizza]

Since when are we Harvard all of a sudden?

YSU is a good school. A good school. It's up to the kids.

The same text books used at YSU are issued to kids at Yale and Cornell. It's up to the kids.

And if you want a winning football program, you have to "reach" at this level.

YSU is not a "destination location" for scholar athletes. Notre Dame, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Northwestern has that pretty well sowed up.

[pennyguin1]

Pizza-Yes, it is the students responsibility to study, go to class, and keep their grades up.