The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: News

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The University's football and men's basketball teams were trounced for the second straight year in graduation rates, as the teams ranked last in the Southeastern Conference for players who entered as freshmen between 1998-2001.

The men's basketball team graduated 23 percent of athletes from this group, and the football team graduated 48 percent, according to the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate Report, released Tuesday. Both teams improved from the NCAA's 2007 report. The men's basketball team's ranking does not include players recruited by head coach Dennis Felton, who came to the University in 2003. The football team's percentage includes recruiting by coach Mark Richt in 2001, his first year.

Eleven University sports teams improved from the 2007 report. Men's cross country and track teams improved by 22 percent, volleyball improved by 9 percent and men's tennis improved by 5 percent.

Five teams' graduation rates declined. Women's cross country and track dropped 4 percent and men's golf fell 3 percent.

The all-athlete graduation rate was up 3 percent, showing that the University is "headed in the right direction in most cases," Tom Jackson, vice president for public affairs, said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Athletics Director Damon Evans expressed a similar sentiment.

"Certainly we are not where we want to be and I'm disappointed in how we compare to some of the other conference schools ... but I'm encouraged by the continued improvement of most of our sports in the GSR, including football," he said in a statement.

Jackson said that due to "comprehensive" academic support, the graduation rates "will only get better in the coming years."

To help athletes, the University offers academic advising, tutoring, proctored study hours and class checkers, said Jere Morehead, the school's vice president for instruction. He said these offerings have been expanded in recent years.

Administrators said they expect graduation rates to improve, citing NCAA academic progress rates. This scale measures current athletes' paths to graduation.

Georgia's multi-year academic progress rate for football was 965, the best among SEC schools, Claude Felton, associate athletic director, said in an e-mail to The Red & Black on Tuesday. He said the men's basketball rate was 958, which ranked second in the conference.

Evans said he was encouraged by the rates.

"I like to keep the [rate] in mind since it is a more accurate indicator of what our sports are doing now rather than seven to 10 years ago. The most recent APR figures showed men's basketball, women's basketball and football all made appreciable increases in their APR."

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