College athletes are graduating at a record pace nationwide, continuing an upward trend that dates to the early 2000s, according to data released Wednesday.
That number represents a 1 percentage point bump over last year and was pushed upward by an increase of 3 percentage points for African American athletes across all sports.
The Graduation Success Rate was created to account for athletes who leave school early while in good academic standing. Under the traditional federal graduation rate, such students are counted as failures. The NCAA measurement also gives teams credit for athletes who arrive as transfers and succeed in the classroom.