Orlando, Fla.-- Earlier this week, The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida released its annual study, “Academic Progress/Graduation Success Rate Study of Division I NCAA Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tournament Teams,” which compare graduation rates for Division I teams that have been selected for the men’s and women’s brackets of the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournaments, and all three America East representatives in the tournaments rank highly.
The study examines the Graduation Success Rates (GSR) and the Academic Progress Rates (APR) for the tournament teams. The study compares the academic performance of male and female basketball student‐athletes and of African‐American and white basketball student‐athletes.
The University of Vermont women's basketball team, the America East's automatic bid, is one of 19 women's teams in the NCAA Championship with a 100 percent graduation rate.
The Catamounts' male counterparts, who also won the America East Championship to earn the league's automatic bid, rank sixth out of the 65 NCAA participants with a 92 percent graduation rate.
The University of Hartford women basketball squad has an APR of 991, fifth highest among the 64-team field. The Hawks earned the program's first-ever at-large bid to the Big Dance.
The author of the study is Dr. Richard Lapchick, who is director of The Institute and of the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at UCF. The study was co‐authored this year by Jamile M. Kitnurse and David Benoit.
NCAA statistics were used in the study. The Institute reviewed 2002‐03 graduation (six‐year) rates, with a four class average (freshman classes of 1999‐00, 2000‐01, 2001‐02, and 2002‐03). That included the class that should have graduated within six years by 2008‐09, the last period reported to the NCAA.
The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport serves as a comprehensive resource for issues related to gender and race in amateur, collegiate and professional sports. The Institute researches and publishes a variety of studies, including annual studies of student‐athlete graduation rates and racial attitudes in sports, as well as the internationally recognized Racial and Gender Report Card, an assessment of hiring practices in coaching and sport management in professional and college sport. Additionally, The Institute conducts diversity management training in conjunction with the National Consortium for Academics and Sports. The Institute also monitors some of the critical ethical issues in college and professional sport, including the potential for exploitation of student‐athletes, gambling, performance‐enhancing drugs and violence in sport.