NCAA Announces SSC as Top Conference in Academic Success Rate in 2023

INDIANAPOLIS –  On Wednesday, December 6th, the NCAA Division II announced that the Sunshine State Conference leads the nation in Academic Success Rate. SSC member institutions and student-athletes earned a record-tying 89 percent ASR, besting the conference's all-time high of 88 percent achieved in 2021 and 2022.

The SSC returns to first place after a four-year hiatus and holds the top spot alone for the first time since 2016. Through the 18-year history of the ASR, the SSC has never ranked below second.

League sports outpaced all national averages when compared sport-by-sport. Additionally, the SSC scored above the NCAA Division II average of 76 percent in 17 of 18 sports. Eleven sports achieved an ASR above 92 percent, with women's lacrosse leading the way at 98 percent. Men's tennis, rowing, and softball followed closely behind at 96 percent.

Female student-athletes in the SSC obtained an Academic Success Rate of 94 percent for the second consecutive year, again besting the Division II national average of 88 percent. SSC male student-athletes remained steady at 84 percent, sitting well above the Division II national average of 69 percent.

NCAA Division II developed ASR in 2006 at the request of institution presidents. Since its inception, 251 SSC student-athletes earned CSC/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors a total of 304 times. Athletically, member institutions have combined for 62 team national championships and 98 individual national titles.

About the Academic Success Rate

Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial college enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships.

The Division II ASR also captures about 40 percent more college athletes than the federal graduation rate. Unlike the Federal Graduation Rate, the ASR also counts student-athletes who transfer to a school after initial enrollment elsewhere and removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible. The national ASR is 76 percent for student-athletes who entered college from 2013 through 2016.

Regardless of which measure is used, Division II college athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. The federal rate for the 2016 entering class of student-athletes was 60 percent, compared to 53 percent for the general student body.