NCAA: California Bears football, worst graduation rate in nation

[Auggie]

San Francisco Chronicle

Cal's football program has the worst graduation rate in the nation among major-conference programs, according to data released by the NCAA on Thursday.

Although several Cal athletic teams scored high in the rankings, the football and men's basketball programs received shockingly low marks. Among all BCS conferences - which include the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC - the Cal football program ranks dead last. Cal's basketball team ranks last in the Pac-12 by a large margin.

The statistics, known as Graduation Success Rates, or GSR, are based on a study representing all student-athletes - incoming freshmen or transfers - who enrolled at a university and received financial aid from 2003 through '06. For the purpose of the study, players are given six years to graduate.

Overall, Cal graduated 78 percent of the student-athletes who enrolled in the university with the help of financial aid from 2003 through '06. The four-year NCAA national average was 81 percent.

GSR scores for Pac-12 schools, Football

Stanford 93
UCLA 82
Washington 74
Utah 73
Oregon 72
Colorado 70
Arizona State 67
Oregon State 66
Arizona 60
Washington State 57
USC 53
Cal 44

STORY: http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Bears-graduation-rates-hit-bottom-4924272.php#page-2

[Kingofalldems]

1. Are the courses given in say the SEC

comparable to the ones at Cal?

[Auggie]

4. Good point. And what are their majors?

[Kingofalldems]

5. I know SEC schools have been known to give 5th grade

level courses to the athletes who then 'graduate'. And then there is the case of Dexter Manley, who graduated from OK St. I believe, and could not read.

[KamaAina]

2. Harry Edwards must be steaming

[petronius]

3. That's just horrible! And seeing Stanford at the top of both that

list and consistently winning on the football field gives this Cal grad a major sad.