Oct. 20, 2003

WACO, Texas - The Baylor men's basketball program had the ninth-highest graduation rate among NCAA Division I-A schools, according to the most recent data reported last week by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The study surveyed the percentage of incoming student-athletes between 1993-94 and 1996-97 who graduated within six years of their arrival. Baylor's men's basketball program tied for ninth in the nation at 64 percent.

Stanford led the nation in, graduating 100 percent of its players during the four-year span. Among Big 12 schools, only Kansas (fourth nationally at 73 percent) ranked ahead of Baylor. Among Texas schools, SMU led at 83 percent, followed by Baylor and Rice (tied for 14th at 58 percent) among the top-20 programs. Texas (38 percent), Texas Tech (33 percent), UT-El Paso (30 percent) and Texas A&M (23 percent) each finished below the national average of 42 percent.

Baylor tips off the 2003-04 season Nov. 4, in an exhibition game vs. the Raiders Select. The regular season begins Nov. 22 at home against Texas Southern.

Men's Basketball Graduation RatesRank    School      Pct.1.  Stanford        1002.  SMU     833.  Miami (Fla.)    784.  Kansas      735.  Middle Tennesee 716.  Tulane      697.  Duke        677.  West Virginia   679.  Baylor      649.  Mississippi St. 649.  Notre Dame  64