If the national championship were decided by football student-athletes’ graduation rates, the University of Central Florida would be the winner among the 12 teams competing in New Year’s Six bowl games.
UCF’s 92 percent Graduation Success Rate for football student-athletes tops Miami’s 88 percent and Clemson’s 85 percent.
UCF also leads the 12 teams in graduation rates for African-American football student-athletes, with a 93 percent Graduation Success Rate. Miami ranks second at 89 percent, followed by Clemson at 81 percent.
“Our UCF family is proud of our student-athletes for finishing this season as the only undefeated team in the nation, but we’re even more impressed with how they are national leaders in the classroom,” said Maribeth Ehasz, UCF’s vice president for Student Development and Enrollment Services.
UCF (12-0) will take on Auburn (10-3) at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 1 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Among the 78 teams competing in bowls, UCF’s 92 and 93 percent graduation rates are 15 and 22 percentage points above the overall averages. UCF is one of only six teams with a higher graduation rate for African-American football student-athletes compared with white football student-athletes.
UCF’s overall student-athlete graduation rate for all sports has led the nation among public universities competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision for four consecutive years.
The study was completed by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport headed by director Richard Lapchick at UCF. The study is based on NCAA statistics, specifically average six-year graduation rates for the classes that enrolled from 2007 to 2011.
The institute serves as a comprehensive resource for issues related to gender and race in amateur, collegiate and professional sport. The institute is part of the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program in the UCF College of Business Administration. This landmark program focuses on business skills necessary for graduates to conduct successful careers in the rapidly changing and dynamic sports industry while also emphasizing diversity, community service and social issues in sport.