Nicholls State athletics teams have improved greatly this year upon their previous Graduation Success Rates and exceeded the current national averages for Division I schools, according to information released recently by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Graduation Success Rate (GSR) is used to measure the academic success of student athletes. This system is more accurate than the federal graduation rate, which does not include transfer students in its calculations.

University President Steven Hulbert said he is very pleased with the success of Nicholls’ athletes.

“This is a big accomplishment for the athletes, and the statistics reflect the very high graduation rates for them,” Hulbert said. “I am very appreciative of the efforts of the athletes, coaches and teachers.”

According to Athletic Director Rob Bernardi, it has been an effort with athletics to not only improve graduation rates but also its Annual Percentage Rate (APR).

“We use the APR system at the end of each semester to determine for every athlete if he or she came back from the last semester, and if he or she is still eligible,” Bernardi said. “Two points are gained for each athlete every semester if both these requirements are met. We then use all student athletes as the denominator and the number of points collected as the numerator, and the quotient from that is the percentage used for the APR scores.”

The NCAA allows a 925 minimum score, and if that number is not maintained there are penalties. Nicholls, however, is in good shape as it has increased its scores dramatically and has also increased its graduation rate.

“This is attributed to what we have done as a department,” Bernardi said. “I believe because we have tougher entrance requirements than we used to, we get smarter and more dedicated athletes.”

The GSR rates for the softball and tennis teams, 90 and 100, respectively, exceed the national Division I average for these sports, both of which are 86. The volleyball team meets the national Division I volleyball average with a GSR of 88.

According to a University news article, as far as academic progress, nine teams have either met or exceeded the GSR rates of the previous six-year cohort, which started in 2003. Baseball and women’s tennis have improved with scores of 71 and 67, respectively.

Teams that exceeded the previous cohort’s GSR rate include volleyball, with a 24-point increase; men’s track, 15; women’s basketball, 14; men’s basketball, 13; football, 12; women’s track, six; and softball, five. The overall GSR for Nicholls student athletes increased by eight points.

Bernardi agreed that these numbers are very good compared to previous years, and said that many people have been working together to improve these numbers.

“I am very pleased with what we have done,” Bernardi said. “Athlete’s graduation rates statistically are higher than the average student’s, so the stereotype that athletes are not intelligent is not true here.”

Bernardi ended with saying that it is his hope that the numbers continue to improve, even though they are far above the average.

“It shows how dedicated our athletes and coaches are,” Bernardi said.