BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Varsity men’s water polo student-athletes are graduating at a rate of 88.2% for the Class of 2018 per data released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the organization’s Graduation Success Rate report.
The ninth-highest graduation rate among any Division I men’s sports to trail skiing (95.2%), ice hockey (94.6%), tennis (93.3%), gymnastics (92.2%), fencing (91.2%), lacrosse (90.8%), golf (90.6%) and swimming (90.3%), the NCAA average for men’s athletics in 2018 was 83.6%.
The number is a dip from water polo’s 97.8% in 2017 which ranked second in the country behind fencing (97.9%).
Since 2002, men’s water polo has ranked among the top achieving sports in NCAA Graduation Success Rate comparisons finishing second in 2002 (94.6%), third in 2003 (86.0%), fifth in 2004 (85.4%), third in 2005 (86.7%), 10th in 2006 (80.0%), second in 2007 (87.1%), first in 2008 (91.7%), tied for first in 2009 with gymnastics (85.7%), eighth in 2010 (80.3%), eighth in 2011 (87.0%), ninth in 2012 (81.1%), first in 2013 (93.8%), fifth in 2014 (87.8%), 10th in 2015 (86.1%), and tied for second with gymnastics in 2016 (94.6%) prior to 2017’s second place mark.
Overall, fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, swimming, tennis and water polo are the only sports among the 18 tracked teams to better the men’s graduation success rate trend for every year dating back to 2002.
For the Four-Class average of the 2014-17 cohort years, men’s water polo is tied for the best four-year average with fencing at 92 as gymnastics (91), tennis (90), ice hockey (89), rifle (89), skiing (89), lacrosse (88), swimming (88), golf (87), volleyball (87), soccer (83), cross country/track (81), baseball (80), basketball (78), wrestling (77), the football bowl series (76) and the football championship series (74) trail behind.
Water Polo remains consistent for the 2015-18 Four Class average as the sport is tied with gymnastics (92), skiing (92) and tennis (92) for second place behind fencing (93). Ice hockey (90), golf (88), lacrosse (88), rifle (88), swimming (88), volleyball (87), soccer (85), baseball (82), cross-country/track (82), basketball (81), wrestling (78), the football bowl series (77) and the football championship series (76) are well off the mark of the top sports.
In addition, the NCAA released graduation success rates for individual Division I programs for the 2011 cohort year, with Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) and Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) institutions continuing the tradition of academic excellence among East Coast water polo institutions.
A total of eight institutions recorded 100 percent success rates with the NWPC (Brown University, Harvard University, Iona College, St. Francis College Brooklyn) and the MAWPC (Bucknell University, the United States Naval Academy) combining for six accolades in achieving perfection. Santa Clara University of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) and Stanford University of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) were the only schools on par with the best-of the-best in the NWPC and MAWPC.
The Northeast Water Polo Conference leads the nation as Brown (100), Harvard (100), Iona (100), St. Francis Brooklyn (100) and Princeton University (93) combined for a graduation success rate of 98.6, obliterating the previous men’s water polo record high set by the quintet in 2017 at 98.2.
The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference also earns high marks with Bucknell (100), Navy (100), George Washington University (90) and Fordham University (86) combining for a graduation success rate of 94 to stand in third place behind both the NWPC and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (94.5), but ahead of the Golden Coast Conference (87.2) and Western Water Polo Association (86.25).
About the Graduation Success Rate:
The Division I Board of Directors created the GSR in response to Division I college and university presidents who wanted data that more accurately reflected the mobility of college students than the federal graduation rate. The federal rate counts any student who leaves a school as an academic failure, no matter whether he or she enrolls at another school. Also, the federal rate does not recognize students who enter school as transfer students.
The GSR formula removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and includes student-athletes who transfer to a school after initially enrolling elsewhere. This calculation makes it a more complete and accurate look at student-athlete success.
The rate also allows for a deeper understanding of graduation success in individual sports than the federal metric, which provides only broad groupings.
Graduation Success Rate (Men’s Water Polo – Class of 2011 Cohort Year)
GSR – Graduation Success Rate / FGR – Federal Graduation Rate
| Cohort Year | School | Conference | GSR | FGR |
| 2011 | Brown University | Northeast Water Polo Conference | 100 | |
| 2011 | Bucknell University | Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference | 100 | 100 |
| 2011 | Long Beach State University | Golden Coast Conference | 85 | 73 |
| 2011 | University of California, Santa Barbara | Golden Coast Conference | 83 | 75 |
| 2011 | University of California, Berkeley | Mountain Pacific Sports Federation | 93 | 86 |
| 2011 | University of California, Davis | Western Water Polo Association Men | 80 | 80 |
| 2011 | University of California, Irvine | Golden Coast Conference | 90 | 70 |
| 2011 | University of California, Los Angeles | Mountain Pacific Sports Federation | 93 | 86 |
| 2011 | Fordham University | Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference | 86 | 83 |
| 2011 | George Washington University | Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference | 90 | 75 |
| 2011 | Harvard University | Northeast Water Polo Conference | 100 | |
| 2011 | Iona College | Northeast Water Polo Conference | 100 | |
| 2011 | Loyola Marymount University | Western Water Polo Association Men | 86 | 60 |
| 2011 | University of the Pacific | Golden Coast Conference | 90 | 60 |
| 2011 | Pepperdine University | Golden Coast Conference | 88 | 83 |
| 2011 | Princeton University | Northeast Water Polo Conference | 93 | 0 |
| 2011 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | Northeast Water Polo Conference | 100 | 100 |
| 2011 | Santa Clara University | Western Water Polo Association Men | 100 | 100 |
| 2011 | University of Southern California | Mountain Pacific Sports Federation | 92 | 92 |
| 2011 | Stanford University | Mountain Pacific Sports Federation | 100 | 100 |
| 2011 | U.S. Air Force Academy | Western Water Polo Association Men | 79 | |
| 2011 | U.S. Naval Academy | Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference | 100 |
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