COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Athletics has enjoyed its best-ever finishes in the Learfield Directors' Cup the past two years, so it only stands to reason that it would produce school-record Graduation Success Rate (GSR) scores during that same span, too. The Tigers, who have placed a program-best 33rd in the final all-sports rankings each of the past two years, matched their school-record institutional GSR score with a mark of 91, according to figures released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Mizzou's overall GSR score ranked third in the SEC and five of its programs registered league-leading marks among their respective sports.
"The last two years have seen incredible academic and athletic performances by our student-athletes and demonstrate that Mizzou Athletics is committed to a culture of 'Winning it Right' both in the classroom and in competition," Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk said. "I am incredibly proud of everyone who has helped make this possible.
"Our academic performance is a reflection of our student-athletes' dedication, the leadership of our coaches in recruiting the right individuals for their programs, and tremendous work by our Mizzou Made academic services and student-athlete development teams. We also deeply appreciate Mizzou's world-class faculty members who play a critical role in the academic development of our student-athletes."
For the second-straight year, Mizzou's institutional GSR record score of 91 ranked third in the SEC behind Vanderbilt (97) and South Carolina (94), but ahead of Alabama (89), Mississippi State (89), LSU (89), Kentucky (88), Tennessee (86), Florida (85), Ole Miss (85), Auburn (84), Georgia (84), Texas A&M (83) and Arkansas (79). Mizzou's most-recent GSR score equaled last year's school-record score, and marked the 12th-consecutive year it either improved or matched its previous year score.
Mizzou's SEC-leading GSR scores came in the sports of baseball (100), women's basketball (100), women's golf (100), women's soccer (100) and women's tennis (100). MU's' GSR scores in football (89) and men's swimming & diving (92) ranked third in the SEC, while its men's track & field/cross country (89) and women's gymnastics (93) marks placed fourth with women's swimming & diving (97) and women's track & field standing fifth. Mizzou wrestling posted the Mid-American Conference's third-best GSR with a 79.
GSR scores and SEC rank of Mizzou's other programs were: men's golf (8th/89), softball (8th/89), volleyball (9th/92) and men's basketball (11th/69).
The NCAA also released its annual student-athlete Federal Graduation Rates survey, and Mizzou's 71 percent rate for its student-athletes was the SEC's second-best mark, behind Vanderbilt's league-leading 85 percent rate, and was just one point shy of the highest mark in program history (72 percent in both 2014-15 and 2016-17). Mizzou's student-athlete graduation rate was two points higher than the University of Missouri's average for all students during that same time frame.
The GSR was developed by the NCAA with the entering freshmen class of 1995 to more accurately assess student-athlete's academic performance. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the federal graduation rate. The GSR also accounts for mid-year enrollees and is calculated for every sport.
Under the calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing students who leave in good academic standing. The outgoing transfers are included in the receiving institution's GSR cohort. The most recent Division I Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering classes from 2008-09 through 2011-12.
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