For the parents of 2004 recruits

[Pony4Life]

In the annual NCAA Academic Report released in September, SMU was reaffirmed as a school that holds academics as a priority of the highest degree (pun intended, I guess). The schools with the highest graduation rates:

1. Rice - 91%
2. Stanford - 90%
Duke - 90%
Notre Dame - 90%
5. Vanderbilt - 88%
6. Northwestern - 86%
7. SMU - 83%
8. Virginia - 82%
Penn State - 82%
10. Tulsa - 80%

[SoCal_Pony]

Interesting information.

Does anyone know which of these top 10 academic schools offer athlete-friendly degrees?

Since we know that SMU does not, it makes it all the more impressive.

[montana]

How do the Big 12 Schools rank ???

[EastStang]

I'm a little surprised by Penn State's finish. But the rest of the top 10 is not surprising at all.

[Red+BlueDude]

You and me both - it's amazing some of the frogs-in-training who get into Penn State, and somehow get a "degree".

The rest of the list seems understandable, although I would have thought Notre Dame would have been a little lower and Virginia a little higher. Also a little surprising that North Carolina and the new-look Michigan (where athletes now have to go to class like the rest of the students) didn't crack the top 10.