Baylor student-athletes lead Big 12 in Graduation Success Rate for 4th straight year

When it comes to preparing champions for life, Baylor continues to lead. For the fourth consecutive year, Baylor student-athletes are tops in the Big 12 in Graduation Success Rate (GSR).

Baylor’s overall score of 89 led all other Big 12 institutions, continuing a streak of excellence that has seen the Bears at or near the top of the conference for more than a decade. This actually marks Baylor’s second “four-peat,” as the Bears also paced the Big 12 in GSR from 2005-08.

GSR was created as an alternative to the federal graduation rate, designed to provide a more thorough and accurate assessment of student-athlete academic performance. For instance, GSR holds institutions accountable for transfer students, where the federal graduation rate does not. Outgoing students who transfer in good academic standing also do not penalize institutions in GSR. (Baylor has fared well in both statistics; this year, Baylor’s federal graduation rate is up five points to 66%, good for third in the conference. Overall, the Bears have finished either first or second in the Big 12 in federal graduation rate for 11 of the conference’s 22 years of existence.)

Results like these are not accidents. If you’ve heard Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades talk about his vision for Baylor Athletics, you’ve likely heard him talk about “preparing champions for life” and his four-pillared process for success that begins with academic achievement as the first pillar.

We’ve seen Baylor student-athletes excel on the field repeatedly; Big 12 titles like these remind us that they’re forging excellence in the classroom, too.

Sic ’em, Baylor student-athletes!