College Graduation Rate Bowl Games

Of the 28 college football bowl games, only one should be played on the basis of graduation rates. That is the game between Boston College and Boise State.

They are two of only 14 teams that have overall graduation rates of 50 percent or higher, a black graduation rate of 50 percent or higher and racial graduation gaps of less than 15 percentage points.

Of the 56 bowl teams in my 10th-annual Graduation Gap Bowl, I would disqualify 37 of them for having overall graduation rates under 50 percent and/or black graduation rates under 50 percent and/or racial gaps of 15 percent or more.

Overall graduation figures take into account the new and more optimistic NCAA Graduation Success Rates. The Graduation Success Rates credit schools for transfers who graduate and do not penalize them for athletes who leave early, but in good academic standing. The Graduation Success Rates cover scholarship athletes in the upcoming 2005 NCAA graduation reports who enter school in the academic years 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, and 1998-99 and have six years to graduate.

The NCAA has not yet released racial data for the Graduation Success Rates. The black graduation rates and racial gaps below come from the 2004 report and represent a one-year lag. Those figures show racial graduation gaps as half of the 56 teams had black graduation rates 20 or more percentage points behind white players.

Here are the calls by the head referee of the Graduation Gap Bowl.

Touchdown

Teams with at least a 50 percent overall graduation success rate, at least a 50 percent black graduation rate, and racial gaps of less than 15 percentage points.

Navy (98 percent graduation success rate)
Notre Dame (96)
Northwestern (92)
Boston College (89)
Texas Christian (86)
Penn State (84)
Southern Mississippi (76)
Virginia Tech (72)
Miami (67)
South Carolina (66)
Boise State (66)
Tulsa (62)
Southern California (55)
Rutgers (53)

First Down

Teams with overall and black graduation rates of at least 50 percent, but racial gaps of 15 percentage points or more.

Virginia (white rate 93, black rate 63)
Oregon (W 79, B 52)
Texas Tech (W 73, B 50)
Toledo (W 77, B 56)
South Florida (B 71, W 50)

Bowl Disqualification

Teams with overall and/or black graduation rates under 50 percent and/or racial gaps of 15 percentage points or more:

Colorado State (black rate 32, racial gap 31)
Nevada (BR 40)
Texas El-Paso (BR 38)
Alabama (Overall 39, gap 18)
Brigham Young (Overall 40, BR 22)
California (Overall 47, gap 17)
Houston (Overall 45)
Kansas (Overall 46, gap 30)
Minnesota (Overall 41, gap 33)
Fresno State (Overall 47)
Louisville (Overall 47, gap 26)
Georgia (Overall 45, gap 33)
Texas (Overall 40)
Central Florida (BR 26, gap 27)
Akron (BR 28, gap 38)
Memphis (BR 29, gap 30)
Arkansas State (BR 29, gap 25)
Colorado (BR 29, gap 31)
Clemson (BR 35, gap 42)
Arizona State (BR 34, gap 25)
Nebraska (BR 48, gap 22)
Michigan (BR 47, gap 23)
Utah (BR 31)
Georgia Tech (BR 43, gap 20)
Oklahoma (BR 35)
UCLA (BR 47, gap 19)
Louisiana State (BR 35, gap 26)
Missouri (BR 39)
Iowa State (BR 36, gap 27)
North Carolina State (BR 36, gap 18)
Iowa (BR 38, gap 26)
Florida (BR 36, gap 20)
West Virginia (BR 33, gap 23)
Wisconsin (BR 45, gap 20)
Auburn (BR 40, gap 34)
Ohio State (BR 43, gap 20)
Florida State (BR 43, gap 28)