RUSTON – Louisiana Tech's student-athletes recorded a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 81 percent, the highest in five years, according to the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate data released this week.
 
LA Tech student-athletes not only garnered a GSR of 81 percent, they also recorded a 57 percent four-year class average and a single-year Federal Graduation Rate of 64 percent (2015-16), which was eight percent higher than the student body.
 
"These numbers illustrate that our student-athletes and coaches have been, and continue to be, deeply invested academically," said Louisiana Tech VP and Director of Athletics Dr. Eric A. Wood.  "Combined with recent record-setting APR scores and academic achievements, our student-athletes are excelling in the classroom at a very high level."
 
The GSR and federal rate calculations measure graduation in a six-year time frame from initial college enrollment.  The recent numbers released are based off of student-athletes who entered Louisiana Tech in 2015.
 
Twelve of LA Tech's 16 athletic programs recorded at least a 75 percent GSR led by tennis who had a perfect 100 score.  Three programs posting at least 90 percent (women's basketball, soccer, and softball) while seven programs registered improvements in their GSR from the previous year.
 
The report shows continued academic excellence at LA Tech.  During the 2021-22 academic year, the athletic department produced a cumulative grade point average of 3.12 (10th consecutive term with at least a 3.00).
 
LA Tech also registered its highest ever single-year average (984.3) and highest ever multi-year average (977.8) in the most recent Academic Progress Rates (APR) and set program records for the most student-athletes receiving the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal with 75 and being named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll with 230.
 
Baseball's Steele Netterville and Jonathan Fincher also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, becoming just the fourth and fifth LA Tech student-athletes to receive this award multiple times.  There has now been a total of 26 Academic All-America selections (12 in the last decade). 
 
Other academic honors included James Swash and Hunter Battles of the golf team being named GCAA All-America Scholars and five players – Madison Cefalu, Tiffani Nash, Ana Rodrigues, Leonie Schuknecht and Lara Unkovich – of the tennis program being named ITA Scholar-Athletes.