For Ninth Consecutive Year, Tennessee Earns Highest-Ever Multi-Year GSR Score

According to the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) released by the NCAA, Tennessee student-athletes continue to graduate at record rates.

The NCAA announced today Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Federal Graduation Rate data for the 2013-14 to 2016-17 freshman cohorts for all Division I institutions as part of the annual NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program.

For the ninth consecutive year, Tennessee's student-athletes earned the school's highest-ever multi-year GSR, at 94 percent. And it marked the 11th straight year that UT's multi-year GSR improved.

Tennessee's female student-athletes' collective multi-year GSR of 98 percent equaled the highest mark in Lady Vols history. In contrast, UT's male student-athletes set their highest-ever multi-year GSR at 93 percent.

In sport-specific data, 10 programs set or tied their highest-ever multi-year GSR. Nine sports also posted a perfect multi-year GSR of 100 percent—baseball, women's basketball, men's golf, women's golf, softball, women's swimming and diving, men's tennis, women's tennis and women's track and field/cross country.

Tennessee's single-year (2016 cohort) GSR of 93 percent was the third-best in school history, as 13 sports posted a single-year GSR of 100 percent. Also noteworthy in UT's single-year GSR data was the collective male student-athlete score of 92 percent—their best single-year score in school history.

"Here at Tennessee, we strive to lead the way forward in college sports, and it all starts with our Vols and Lady Vols thriving academically and earning their degree," Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. "The most recent GSR data proves that the academic mission remains a priority on Rocky Top. This success is a credit to the outstanding academic resources and support our students have access to at the University of Tennessee—especially in the Thornton Center."

The GSR is calculated differently than the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR). The GSR allows institutions to add scholarship transfers that fit into their respective freshman cohorts and remove those students who choose to leave and are academically eligible according to NCAA Progress-Toward-Degree-Requirements.

In 2001, the University of Tennessee opened the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center to provide student-athletes with superior academic support programs and personal and career development assistance.

"This is a gratifying reflection of the unwavering commitment to academic excellence by our student-athletes, coaches, and staff over the past decade," Senior Associate Athletics Director/Associate Provost Marshall Steward said. "As you can see in the record GPAs and graduation rates, semester after semester and year after year, that commitment is stronger now than at any other time in our history."

In May 2022, Tennessee Athletics published Rise Glorious, an ambitious five-year strategic plan. The first of the plan's six core values is "Academic Excellence."

Educational achievement is also highlighted in Tennessee Athletics' vision statement: Deliver an unparalleled student-athlete experience fueled by the relentless pursuit of comprehensive excellence; be bold and innovative in our approach to recruiting and developing well-rounded graduates, championship-driven competitors and world-changing leaders.

University of Tennessee Athletics

For Ninth Consecutive Year, Tennessee Earns Highest-Ever Multi-Year GSR Score

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