In Graduation Rates, Black Athletes Outperform Black Students as a Whole

Despite the public’s perception of black college athletes as “dumb jocks” who are in college only to compete on the athletic field, the evidence is clear that black scholarship athletes actually perform better academically than black students as a whole. Overall, without reference to athletics, only 37 percent of black men who enter college in this country graduate within six years. But 48 percent of black male scholarship athletes earn their diplomas within the six-year period.

For black women, the overall graduation rate is 48 percent, but the graduation rate jumps to 64 percent for black women who are scholarship athletes. The graduation rate for black women athletes actually is higher than the national average for all white male college students, including athletes and nonathletes.

It is likely that the financial aid provided by an athletic scholarship is a critical factor in enabling many black student athletes to stay in school.

Copyright © 2007. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.