Hats off to Gene Smith and the athletic department for the fine job they do with the hundreds of student athletes year after year. Once again they have made us proud.

Once again it gives us a hold-your-head-up-high kind of feeling, but it didn’t happen on the gridiron or the court.

It happened at the most novel of all places, at least if stereotypes were true, that is.

It didn’t happen on the diamond or in the pool, and it wasn’t because of a spike or somebody’s triple somersault.

This time we are cheering not because we made the Sweet Sixteen or because we beat Nebraska. It’s not from a perfect 10 or a touchdown, not even from a hole in one or a hat trick.

This time the athletic department made its major strides in the classroom as opposed to the football field.

According to a recent report by the NCAA, Iowa State had a graduation rate of 62 percent for freshmen who entered the 20 athletic programs in 1990. Not only was this highest among all the schools in the Big 12 but was higher than the national average of 58 percent.

In football ISU has the highest graduation rate in the Big 12, a rate higher than seven of the 11 Big 10 schools, including Iowa.

In fact, the ISU basketball team graduated twice as many players as the Hawkeyes.

The fact that graduation numbers are as high as they are is not only a credit to the staff and coaches, but also a credit to the students as well. It shows there is another game being played besides basketball and volleyball.

No, the numbers are not the knock-you-out-of-your-chair type, and yes, there is room for improvement, but the numbers are impressive, nevertheless. We all should be proud.

Thanks for giving us something new to stand up and cheer about.

The athletic department should be proud of itself and extremely proud of its athletes.

We are proud, and we salute them all.