Feature

U of M student-athletes match second-best grad rates in school history

A maroon M flag flapping in the wind on a sunny day

Golden Gopher student-athletes posted another strong showing with the release of the NCAA's latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) rankings late in the fall—evidence of the U of M’s commitment to its high academic standards.

With a 95 percent graduation rate for the second straight academic year, Minnesota has now recorded the seven highest GSR statistics in school history over the last seven years. This includes the school-record mark of 96 percent in 2021; 94 percent in 2022, 2020 and 2019; and a 93 percent rate in 2018.

Within the Big Ten conference, the Gophers' rate of 95 percent ranked third behind only Northwestern (98 percent) and Michigan (96 percent).

This year's GSR primarily focuses on the six-year cohort that came to the U of M as freshmen in 2017. The GSR shows the percentage of student-athletes on any given team who earn a college degree within six years of starting school. It represents data from first-time freshmen, student-athletes who entered at mid-year, and student-athletes who transferred into the University of Minnesota between 2014 and 2017. (It excludes student-athletes who transfer from the University in good academic standing.)

Ten Minnesota programs posted 100 percent graduation rates for the aforementioned time frame: baseball, women's basketball, women's golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, women's swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling. All 19 sponsored sports on campus had graduation rates at or above 88 percent.