CINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati football team ranks atop the current Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Top-10 in academic rankings, according to the latest graduation success rates released by the NCAA.
The No. 5 Bearcats (10-0, 6-0 Big East) have a 75 percent NCAA graduation rate and a 71 percent federal government rate. They are the only team in the BCS top 10 to surpass the 70-percent plateau on both lists.
The graduation rates are for student-athletes who entered college in 2002-03, meaning they earned their diplomas within six years.
Half of the top 10 teams in the BCS standings - Florida, Texas, Boise State, Georgia Tech, and LSU, failed to reach 50 percent in the federal report.
The NCAA's latest graduation numbers show nearly four out of five student-athletes earn their diplomas on time, an all-time high, and federal statistics show athletes are still more likely to graduate on time than other students.
NCAA graduation rates at a glanceNCAA graduation rates of Top 10 teams in BCS standings, based on freshman classes entering school from 1999 to 2002 (graduation rate of federal government listed in parenthesis. Unlike NCAA, does not factor in transfers):
1. Florida 69 percent (42 percent)
2. Alabama 67 percent (62 percent)
3. Texas 49 percent (41 percent)
4. TCU 65 percent (59 percent)
5. Cincinnati 75 percent (71 percent)
6. Boise St. 58 percent (48 percent)
7. Georgia Tech 49 percent (41 percent)
8. LSU 60 percent (42 percent)
9. Pittsburgh 68 percent (56 percent)
10. Ohio State 62 percent (58 percent)
