Oct. 14, 2008
GREENVILLE, S.C. - A Southern Conference leading nine Furman athletic teams achieved a graduation success rate (GSR) of 100 percent, and Furman's football program ranked in the top 10 percent nationally in GSR, according to figures releases Tuesday by the NCAA.
GSR figures are compiled for all athletes on scholarship who enrolled from 1998-01 and who graduated within a six-year period.
Furman sports posting perfect 100 percent GSRs include men's cross country/track & field, men's golf, men's tennis, women's cross country/track & field, women's golf, women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, and volleyball.
Furman's football program recorded a 95 percent GSR over the same period, ranking it among the elite in NCAA Division I football, which encompasses 239 colleges and universites that sponsor Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs.
Furman's overall GSR score of 95 for its 18-sport intercollegiate athletics program places the university in the top 10 percent nationally.
In addition, NCAA figures reveal that Furman graduated a Southern Conference best 99 percent of its student-athetes who enrolled between 1992-01, received scholarship assistance, and exhausted their athletic eligibility.
Furman's GSR numbers mirror the school's impressive NCAA Academic Progress Report (APR) figures that measure retention and graduation. In April six Furman athletic teams, including Paladin football, were recognized by the NCAA with APR numbers that ranked among the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.
Furman's football team was among a group of only 25 NCAA Division I football programs to earn recognition.
Furman football has posted a 75-32 overall record (.701) -- second best in the Carolinas among Division I programs and sixth best nationally among FCS schools -- and a 46-17 Southern Conference mark (.730) since 2000.
In 2007-08 Furman athletic teams combined to win eight SoCon regular season and tournament championships and secure five NCAA Tournament bids -- both top marks among SoCon schools. In addition the five NCAA Tournament appearances propelled the university to a solid 108th place ranking in the NACDA United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup -- the best finish by a SoCon school.
