Are College Athletes Getting Smarter?

(MoneyWatch)  Are college athletes getting smarter?
I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that college athletes are now more likely to graduate. In fact, in the race to the graduation finish line, the jocks are beating out the rest of their classmates. Really!

According to the latest NCAA statistics, 79% of Division I jocks, who started college in 2002, graduated within six years. For college athletes competing at Division II schools, which are generally less academically competitive, the grad rate was 71%.

By far, women athletes enjoyed the best graduation rates. I've listed the top five college sports for men and women that produced the best graduation rates.

Women Best Graduation rate

1. Fencers 100%
2. Skiing 95%
3. Gymnastics 93%
4. Lacrosse 93%
5. Swimming 92%

Men Best Graduation Rates

1. Tennis 86.5%
2. Water polo 86%
3. Gymnastics 86%
4. Skiing 85%
5. Lacrosse 83%

In the hall of shame, the sports with the lowest grad rates all belong to the men.

Sports with Lowest Graduation Rates

• Men's basketball 65.5%
• Football - Bowl Subdivision 66%
• Football - Championships Subdivision 66%
• Men's volleyball 67%
• Men's baseball 70%

Unfortunately, you can't use the NCAA stats to compare jocks to their non-athletic classmates. In massaging its figures, the NCAA doesn't count transfer students which means when jocks leave for other universities, the NCAA doesn't count those students among those who never earn a bachelor's degree.

In contrast, the federal graduation statistics lump transfer students with those who don't graduate which leads to lower grad rates. The federal six-year grad rate for Division I athletes is 64% versus 62% for all students who attend these schools.

So why are jocks fairing so well? The NCAA has toughened the academic requirements that athletes must meet to be able to continue compete. While coaches didn't have much incentive to make sure their students graduated in the past, they definitely do now. And thank goodness for that.

Smartest college athlete image by primeperry. CC 2.0.