INDIANAPOLIS — The Gulf South Conference posted an Academic Success Rate (ASR) score of 77 percent, marking an all-time high score and the first-time ever the conference met the national average. 

In the announcement, NCAA Division II reported a the national average of 77 percent. The data released by the NCAA reflects graduation rates among student-athletes who entered college from 2015 to 2018. 

As a result, the GSC’s ASR tally increased one-point from last year’s report as the league stretched its run to eight consecutive years of steady or positive growth. Since 2008, the Gulf South has risen more than 20 points, highlighted by a 15-point bump since 2014. 

Individually, six conference institutions from the 2024-25 season met or exceeded the national average, with five at or above 80 percent—Trevecca Nazarene (94 percent), Union (87), Lee (85), Mississippi College (83), AUM (80), and UAH (77). Trevecca’s score earned the school the Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence, which is awarded to schools with an ASR of 90 percent or higher.

Of the Conference’s 18 sports, 13 performed better than the Division II ASR national average, with seven scoring 85 percent or better. 

Women’s Tennis led the conference for the third straight year as it came in at 98 percent. Volleyball (93 percent) and women’s soccer (91 percent) followed as did women’s golf and softball which were tied at 89 percent. Tennis was the highest sport on the men’s side for the third consecutive year with an ASR of 87 percent, two points higher than last year.

The Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial college enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships. As a result, ASR captures about 40 percent more student-athletes than the federal rate, largely due to over 30,000 non-scholarship student-athletes being included in the NCAA ASR calculation.