Members of ISU athletic teams try to remain competitive in the Big 12 on a strength and conditioning basis, but new figures show some players have not excelled in the classroom.

The number of ISU athletes graduating with a degree is comparably less than two-thirds of the Big 12 universities, according to new graduation success rate information released by the NCAA.

Although the national average boasts 76 percent of Division I student athletes graduating, only 68 percent of ISU athletes graduate.

The NCAA graduation success rate is a new, more accurate alternative to the federal system already in place, and was created as a solution to the rise in the number of students transferring universities during their academic careers. Prior to the NCAA’s success rates, student athletes who transferred into or left a university in good academic standing were not included in the statistics.

“The federal rate is clearly flawed,” said Erik Christianson, NCAA director of public and media relations. “With the mobility of college students today, it’s not capturing a significant number of students leaving one institution for another.”

According to Christianson, approximately 25,000 individuals, or 35 percent of the athletes in the test group (entering classes from 1995 to 1998), were not being counted in the old system.

As a result, NCAA President Myles Brand sent a letter to the Department of Education urging them to consider the adoption of the NCAA’s success rate as a new alternative, saying that it is “a complementary rate to the federal methodology that responds to a presidential need.”

NCAA Research Contractor Maria DeJulio agreed that the new rate system is beneficial because of the inclusion of transfer students. Because of how new the system is, however, the only strict comparisons that could be drawn with the student body were through the federal system, she said.

The most recent federal statistics show that, on average, Division I student athletes nationwide have maintained a higher graduation rate than college students, with 62 percent earning a degree compared to 60 percent, respectively.

These numbers do not mirror the progress being made at Iowa State, however.

The general student body is graduating at a rate of 68 percent, and student athletes at only 58 percent.

When Iowa State’s sports are broken down by teams, four women’s sports (golf, softball, tennis and volleyball) top the success rates with 100 percent graduation rates, and men’s basketball is at the bottom with 17 percent. Football is the second lowest at 51 percent.

Steve Malchow, ISU senior associate director of athletics, said this may be in part because of the educational background that players have upon entering the university.

“Everyone is required to put in the same effort academically,” he said.

“Nationally these two sports seem to lag behind the rest, showing that there is always room for improvement.”

ISU men’s basketball coach Wayne Morgan could not be reached for comment.