INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Niagara University Department of Athletics set a record Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 95 percent, announced by the NCAA on Thursday.

Eight of Niagara's athletic programs had a perfect GSR of 100 percent: women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's lacrosse, men's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis and volleyball.

Each of Niagara' athletic programs included in the study matched or exceeded the federal GSR average for its respective sport: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's ice hockey, women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.

The NCAA also released the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR). Niagara had an FGR of 71 percent.

The NCAA developed the GSR to more accurately measure the academic success of student-athletes. The report gives graduation information for students and student-athletes who entered college in 2014, the most recent class for which the required six years of information is available. It also breaks down the GSR by sport, using a four-year class average (2011-2014) called a cohort rate to provide a big enough sample. The GSR does not include students who leave an institution while academically eligible, but does include students who transfer into an institution after initially enrolling elsewhere. The FGR is currently the only measure to compare student-athletes with an institution's general student body.

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