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News Nuggets, 09.29.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

NCAA graduation rate inches higher

NCAA president Myles Brand’s goal of an 80 percent Graduation Success Rate for Division I is a percentage point closer to fruition with the release of recent NCAA data showing the overall GSR for the division at 77 percent, up from 76 percent last year.

The data is from the four-class aggregate of entering classes from 1996 through 1999, for which the NCAA has compiled sport-by-sport GSR and the comparable graduation rate using the federally mandated methodology, according to a release at ncaa.org.

The GSR release is the first of two this fall, and it includes four-class averages for each team at each institution, as well as the four-class graduation rate for that sport. Because the focus is at the team level, the data are provided as four-class aggregates, since that format is a much more accurate indicator of a team’s academic performance than any single-cohort rate. The NCAA will release each institution’s overall federal graduation rate in October. The NCAA also will include each school’s overall GSR for student-athletes on the federal report.

The NCAA developed the GSR two years ago because the federal graduation rate does not credit institutions with student-athletes who leave in good academic standing or for transfers into the school who graduate. The GSR accounts for both of those transfer groups, which has resulted in a more accurate depiction of student-athlete academic success, since it captures about 35 percent more students than the federal methodology.

ECU tennis alumni will hold Oct. 7 reunion

The East Carolina men's and women's tennis programs will welcome back all alumni on Saturday, Oct. 7, for a "Meet and Greet" breakfast and a round-robin playing event at Baywood Racquet Club prior to the Virginia-ECU football game later that evening.

According to a release from the ECU athletic media relations department, the Tennis Alumni Weekend will get underway Saturday morning and observe the following schedule:

There is a block of tickets in the same section being held for all tennis alumni. To purchase tickets, contact Scott Lane at the ECU Athletics Ticket Office at (252) 328-4500 and reference tennis alumni event.

Alumni can also go online at ecupirates.com and click on Buy Tickets, then click on Group Ticket Login. The ID is TENNIS (all caps) and password is PIRATES (all caps). Tickets are being held at the discounted rate, but will be released for general sale as of October 4th.

Please RSVP via phone or e-mail to Shawn Heinchon (252-737-1421 or heinchons@ecu.edu. When sending an RSVP, alumni are asked to please include their contact information, T-shirt size and plans to attend the Tailgate Party. Tickets for the Tailgate Party can be purchased at the door. Guests are welcome at all of the day's events.

Baywood Racquet Club is located at 471 Baywood Drive in Winterville, NC.

Tulane's return home to be televised

Following Monday night's triumphant return of NFL football to New Orleans, CSTV will broadcast the first post-Hurricane Katrina college football game played in New Orleans and the Superdome, according to a Conference USA release.

On Saturday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 pm ET, CSTV will televise Southern Methodist at Tulane. Play-by-play voice Carter Blackburn and analyst Brian Jones will call the action for Tulane's first game in the Superdome in almost two years.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:51 PM