Elon student-athletes shine in annual graduation success rate release

The NCAA has announced the 2022-23 Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Federal Graduation Rate data for all Division I institutions as part of the annual NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program.

Elon has again excelled nationally, highlighted by an overall single-year GSR of 96 percent, which is the eighth year in a row Elon has been either first or second in the Coastal Athletic Association. Additionally, 10 Elon athletics programs earned a perfect 100 percent score:

• Men’s Basketball
• Men’s Cross Country
• Men’s Golf
• Men’s Soccer
• Women’s Basketball
• Women’s Lacrosse
• Women’s Soccer
• Softball
• Women’s Tennis
• Volleyball

Elon is one of five schools in the CAA in which every athletic program achieved a GSR of 80 percent or higher.

“I am incredibly proud of our student-athletes, who continue to excel academically and set the standard for academic success,” Director of Athletics Jenn Strawley said. “I would also like to commend our coaches who recruit, mentor and develop young people and who are also committed to the values of an Elon education and achieving excellence in the classroom and in the competitive arena. Finally, the success of our student-athletes is impacted by so many within the Elon community and I am grateful for the support and mentorship of our tremendous academic support team, faculty and staff who help our student-athletes continue to excel.”

Other highlights include:

• The Elon men’s basketball program earned a perfect GSR of 100 percent for the 10th consecutive year. Since joining the CAA, Elon is the only school in the conference to have had a 100 percent GSR every year.
• This marks the ninth straight year that the Elon men’s cross country and women’s tennis programs have earned a 100 percent GSR.
• This year marks the seventh straight year the Elon women’s basketball program has had a GSR of 100 percent.
• This marks the fifth consecutive year the Elon men’s golf and volleyball programs have earned a perfect 100 percent GSR.
• This marks the fourth consecutive year (and every year in the program’s history) that the Elon women’s lacrosse team earned a perfect 100 percent GSR score.
• Since 2005, the Elon women’s soccer program has recorded a perfect 100 percent on nine occasions, including the last three years.
• This is the fifth year since 2014 that the Elon softball program earned a perfect 100 percent GSR.
• The Elon men’s soccer team earned a perfect 100 percent GSR for the first time in program history.
• The Elon football team’s 91 percent GSR is third in the CAA. This is the seventh consecutive year that the team has been above 90 percent.
• Elon baseball’s 97 percent GSR is second in the conference and marks the seventh consecutive year above 90 percent.
• The Elon women’s cross country and track and field programs earned a 96 percent score in the latest report. The women’s cross country and track and field program has been above 95 percent in every GSR release to date.

The GSR measures graduation rates of scholarship student-athletes at Division I institutions. It includes those transferring into the institutions. The GSR also allows institutions to subtract student-athletes who leave their institutions prior to graduation, as long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained. The 2022-23 rates are based on the entering classes from 2013-16.

The NCAA’s GSR was developed in response to a mandate by college and university presidents for graduation data that more accurately reflects the mobility among today’s college students. Both rates improve on the federally mandated graduation rate by including students who were omitted from the federal calculation.