U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is proposing that college teams with a graduation rate lower than 40 percent be banned from post-season play.
This would mean that 12 teams in the NCAA tournament would not be on the court.
“Those figures come from NCAA rates compiled by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. They do not include transfers or players who leave early for the NBA. They do not reflect athletes who will play in the tourney, as they include the most recent four-year classes that have had six years to graduate.”
Duncan’s proposal comes just after the University of Central Florida released studies on the graduation success rate of Division I women’s and men’s tournament teams:
- “The 2010 Division I Women vs. Men Basketball Study” [PDF]
- “The 2010 Division I Men’s Basketball Study” [PDF]
The disparity in graduation rates between white and black players [PDF] on teams heading into the NCAA playoffs grew last year. The Associated Press reported:
“The annual report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida found 45 teams graduated 70 percent or more of their White players, up from 33 teams last year. But only 20 teams graduated at least 70 percent of their Black players, the same as last year.”
The Washington Post added some perspective on this issue:
“Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) raised concerns about graduation rates on Tuesday night during debate on a House resolution honoring the University of Maryland men’s basketball team. Campbell noted that the Terrapins’ 8 percent graduation rate is the lowest of the 65 teams selected for the tournament.
“The 8 percent figure comes from a study by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. The study’s formula does not include student athletes who transfer elsewhere or who leave early to join the National Basketball Association, but it does account for athletes who will play in the tournament.
“Maryland Terrapins Coach Gary Williams disputed the findings and their significance in an interview with The Washington Post.”
U.S. News & World Report pointed out that this is far from a new problem:
“Federal data calculating the rate of graduation within six years for the four classes that enrolled from 1999 through 2002 show that on average, teams from last year’s tournament graduated just 43 percent of their players. That includes six teams with graduation rates under 20 percent and two others in single digits. Then there’s California State-Northridge, the only team where the chances of an NCAA player getting drafted by an NBA team — 1.2 percent — were actually higher than its zero percent graduation rate.
“An NCAA-created graduation rate formula that excludes students who turn professional, transfer, or drop out, as long as they leave in good standing, produces only slightly better results. Under this calculation, last year’s teams had an average graduation rate of 59 percent, meaning that 2 out of every 5 players on the floor were still falling short academically.
“Poor results notwithstanding, it’s easy to dismiss academics as an ancillary issue. College basketball players are given a free college education, so who cares if they fail to take advantage of it?”
