Ames, Iowa – For the second-consecutive year, Iowa State has registered the Big 12 Conference’s top Graduation Success Rate (GSR) score, according to the 2023 Division I academic performance metrics released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). ISU’s league-best 95 percent GSR matched the school-record set a year ago and marked the eighth-straight year it either tied or established a new academic excellence standard.

“Iowa State’s school-record tying and Big 12-leading GSR scores reflect the hard work, effort and dedication of our student-athletes in the classroom and their resolve to earn a degree from Iowa State University,” said Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard. “Our coaches and academic services team have established a culture that allows our student-athletes to reach their full potential both academically and athletically over the course of their Cyclone journey.

“We appreciate the important role that Iowa State’s faculty and staff play in creating an academic environment that allows our student-athletes to grow and succeed,” he added. “Graduation remains the expectation for all Cyclone student-athletes, and this report demonstrates our ongoing commitment to helping them achieve that goal.”

ISU’s institutional GSR score has improved in each of the last nine years, from a 77 percent score in 2014 to its most-recent 95 percent mark the past two years, while equaling or establishing a school-record in each of the last eight years. Iowa State’s 2023 mark also came in four points higher than both the NCAA FBS and Big 12 averages.

The Cyclones’ institutional 2023 GSR score of 95 percent led the Big 12, followed closely by Baylor (94), West Virginia (94), Kansas State (93), Oklahoma State (92), Kansas (90), Oklahoma (89), Texas (89), TCU (87) and Texas Tech (85). For the purposes of the 2023 GSR report, the NCAA based conference affiliation upon the league that institutions were members of during the 2022-23 academic year. Of the four institutions that joined the Big 12 on July 1, Cincinnati had a GSR score of 97 percent, followed by UCF (92), BYU (80) and Houston (80).

ISU football produced a program-record GSR of 93 percent to rank second in the Big 12, while men’s basketball (89 percent) ranked fourth, followed by wrestling (89 percent, fifth), women’s soccer (96 percent, fifth), men’s track & field/cross country (85 percent, seventh) and volleyball (86 percent, ninth).

The GSR was developed by the NCAA with the entering freshmen class of 1995 to more accurately assess student-athlete’s academic performance. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the fed survey. The GSR also accounts for mid-year enrollees and is calculated for every sport.

Under the calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing students who leave in good academic standing. The outgoing transfers are included in the receiving institution’s GSR cohort. The most-recent Division I Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering classes from 2013-16.