Aug. 23, 2001

American University, a Division I NCAA member institution in Washington, D.C., is the recipient of a USA Today - NCAA Foundation Academic Achievement Award.

The university won in the category of "institutions with the greatest increase in percentage of student-athletes graduating over the 1993-99 cohort."

In July, Hofstra University, a Division I school in Hempstead, New York, was named the recipient of the award. However, Hofstra officials reported August 16 that the 92 percent graduation rate that the university submitted to the NCAA as part of its annual reporting was incorrect. Hofstra officials state that the correct rate is 58 percent.

There are three award categories. The other categories are "institutions graduating the highest percentage of student-athletes," and "institutions with the highest student-athlete graduation rates above the average of the student body." A winner is named in each category in Divisions I, II and III.

Hofstra had been named the runner-up in the other categories in Division I, but with its corrected information, is no longer in the top 10 in any category.

Also, the University of New Orleans, a Division I school, was listed in the top five in the category, "institutions with the highest student-athlete graduation rates above the average of the student body," in the July release. The university reported an error in its graduation rate for the general student body, which caused the university to drop out of the top five in that category. Boise State University now moves into the top five for this category.

Each of the winning institutions will receive $25,000 to use however they choose. This is the first year the academic achievement awards have been given and are possible due to a gift of $2.6 million that USA Today pledged to the NCAA Foundation last year. The schools will be recognized at a reception and banquet at the new USA Today headquarters in McClean, Virginia, September 28.

The top five institutions in each category for each division, chosen based upon graduation rates data for the 1994-00 academic years, are:

OVERALL 1994-00 STUDENT-ATHLETE GRADUATION RATE

DIVISION I SCHOOL NAME GRADUATION RATE 1. LEHIGH UNIVERSITY 94% Northwestern University 90% Duke University 90% 4. COLGATE UNIVERSITY 89% Davidson College 88% Valparaiso University 88% 7. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY 87% Stanford University 86% 9. BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY 86%

1994-00 STUDENT-ATHLETE GRADUATION RATE ABOVE THE 1993-99 COHORT

DIVISION I SCHOOL NAME RATE IMPROVEMENT 1. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY 29% Tulane University 27% Mississippi Valley State University 27% University of Nevada 26% Oral Roberts University 25%

1994-00 STUDENT-ATHLETE GRADUATION RATE ABOVE THE STUDENT-BODY AVERAGE

DIVISION I SCHOOL NAME RATES ABOVE STUDENT-BODY Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus 50% Liberty University 31% Texas Southern University 31% Wichita State University 29% Boise State University 28%

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