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<DIV id=cnnSCHeadlineArea><A name=ContentArea></A><H1>NCAA: Athletes graduate at higher rate than other students</H1><H5><SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript> </SCRIPT>POSTED: 10:40 p.m. EST, November 9, 2006 </H5></DIV><DIV id=cnnSCContentColumn><SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript>var clickExpire = "12/9/2006";</SCRIPT><DIV class=cnn0pxTMargin id=cnnSCFontButtons><DIV id=cnnSCFontLabel>Adjust font size:</DIV><DIV id=cnnSCFontMinusBtn onclick="setActiveStyleSheet('default'); return false;">
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INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AP) -- NCAA president Myles Brand commended college athletes for their academic improvement Thursday, then criticized poor fact-checking by the media and government for failing to report the true story.
Brand said figures released by the NCAA Thursday prove athletes often outperform their peers in the classroom and called any other notion a "myth."
The latest federal graduation rates show athletes are more likely than the general student body to earn a diploma, and that female athletes continue to post higher numbers than their male counterparts.
"One of my most significant frustrations to read time and again is the mistaken myth that student-athletes are not good students," Brand said. "The federal government confirmed something we've known for a long time -- that student-athletes are good students. There really is no excuse for getting this information wrong."
The latest measurements showed incoming athletes from the freshman class of 1999-2000 held a 2-point advantage, 63 percent to 61 percent, over those students who did not play sports. Athletes also had a 1-point overall increase over last year's figures.
Federal graduation rates are calculated over a six-year period for each incoming freshman class.
Boston College was among four schools that graduated at least 90 percent of their athletes over the one-year period.
"This is a tribute to our coaches and support staff, but mainly to our student-athletes, who work just as hard in the classroom as they do on the playing field," Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo said in a statement.
Brand blamed the misperception on editorial writers and cited a letter from the House Ways and Means Committee, which is investigating the NCAA's tax-exempt status, to get the numbers right.
"Their claim that student-athletes don't perform well in the classroom is way off, and I think those wrong stories need to get their facts right," he said.
Academic reform has been Brand's top priority since taking over as president in 2003.
He presided over a movement that made eligibility standards for student-athletes more rigorous and created more stringent standards for freshmen to play. Brand also pushed for a new, more effective calculation to measure academic success among student-athletes.
Under the NCAA formula, called the Graduation Succe
</DIV><DIV id=cnnSCFontPlusBtn onclick="setActiveStyleSheet('LargeFont'); return false;"></DIV></DIV>INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AP) -- NCAA president Myles Brand commended college athletes for their academic improvement Thursday, then criticized poor fact-checking by the media and government for failing to report the true story.
Brand said figures released by the NCAA Thursday prove athletes often outperform their peers in the classroom and called any other notion a "myth."
The latest federal graduation rates show athletes are more likely than the general student body to earn a diploma, and that female athletes continue to post higher numbers than their male counterparts.
"One of my most significant frustrations to read time and again is the mistaken myth that student-athletes are not good students," Brand said. "The federal government confirmed something we've known for a long time -- that student-athletes are good students. There really is no excuse for getting this information wrong."
The latest measurements showed incoming athletes from the freshman class of 1999-2000 held a 2-point advantage, 63 percent to 61 percent, over those students who did not play sports. Athletes also had a 1-point overall increase over last year's figures.
Federal graduation rates are calculated over a six-year period for each incoming freshman class.
Boston College was among four schools that graduated at least 90 percent of their athletes over the one-year period.
"This is a tribute to our coaches and support staff, but mainly to our student-athletes, who work just as hard in the classroom as they do on the playing field," Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo said in a statement.
Brand blamed the misperception on editorial writers and cited a letter from the House Ways and Means Committee, which is investigating the NCAA's tax-exempt status, to get the numbers right.
"Their claim that student-athletes don't perform well in the classroom is way off, and I think those wrong stories need to get their facts right," he said.
Academic reform has been Brand's top priority since taking over as president in 2003.
He presided over a movement that made eligibility standards for student-athletes more rigorous and created more stringent standards for freshmen to play. Brand also pushed for a new, more effective calculation to measure academic success among student-athletes.
Under the NCAA formula, called the Graduation Succe
- T.K.
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