University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Football Honored For Academic Success
6/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 18, 2003
WACO, TEXAS - The University of Connecticut was honored on Wednesday by the American Football Coaches Association for being one of just seven Division I-A schools in the country to graduate 90 percent or better of its football players.
Connecticut is the lone public school in a group that also includes Boston College, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. The AFCA’s overall Academic Achievement Award, which is presented annually by the Touchdown Club of Memphis, went, for the 11th time, to Duke, which graduated 100 percent of its players.
The ranking involves the freshman class from the academic year of 1997-98, including those who entered at that time but who did not receive financial aid until after their initial year, or who transferred from another institution and subsequently received a grant-in-aid. The overall graduation rate of the 102 I-A schools that responded was 59 percent, one percent less than the previous year. Fifty-one of the members responding were above the average and 51 were below the average. The median graduation rate was 59 percent, compared to 61 percent last year and 58 percent the four previous years.
"It is a great honor to have the University of Connecticut listed with such fine academic institutions," head coach Randy Edsall said. "This is a great tribute to the hard work put in every day by Ellen Rennie, Vernon Percy and the whole staff in CPIA (Counselling Program for Intercollegiate Athletes). It is also a great tribute to the hard work of those student-athletes and their dedication off of the field to achieve such great success in the classroom. This recognition is something that I’m very proud to receive on behalf of the program."
All 31 schools that graduated 70 percent or better of their student-athletes earned an honorable mention from the AFCA. Those schools include: Ball State, Baylor, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Marshall, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, Southern Methodist, Southern Mississippi, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, Tulane, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Western Michigan.
