Skyhawks one of ten institutions nationwide to receive recognition after posting an Academic Success Rating of 90-percent or better for 16th-straight year
Stonehill College Academic Success Rating Report
NCAA.com College athletes continue to graduate at record highs
NE10 Leads Division II Conferences in ASR
Emma Zamierowski, '16 captured the IHSA National Championship for walk-trot in 2014. |
EASTON, Mass. (December 15, 2021) – Stonehill College has once again been recognized for its academic performance, with regard to graduation rate, by receiving the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement for the tenth-straight year, having earned a 92-percent Academic Success Rating (ASR) as released by the NCAA today.
Stonehill is among 43 Division II institutions recognized by the NCAA in the award's tenth year of existence, honoring athletic programs with four-year Academic Success Rates of 90-percent of more. ASR considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes while also giving credit for any student-athletes that transferred from the institution while in good academic standing.
"I want to congratulate our student athletes on receiving the NCAA Presidents' Award for the tenth straight year that reflects their outstanding 92-percent academic success rate here at Stonehill," said Rev. John Denning, C.S.C., president of Stonehill College and member of the NCAA Division II Presidents' Council. "This well-deserved award recognizes that discipline, focus, time management and teamwork are essential qualities that our student-athletes embody every day in the classroom and on the field."
Stonehill is one of ten institutions across Division II to receive the NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence all ten years of its existence for having an ASR of 90-percent or better. The Skyhawks' 92-percent ASR for the cohort period of 2011-2014 ranks fifth among Northeast-10 Conference members and 20th nationally among 303 NCAA Division II member institutions. The NE10 leads Division II with eight member institutions earning an ASR of 90-percent or higher, with Bentley University (99%), Saint Michael's College (99%), Le Moyne College (96%), Saint Anselm College (94%), Adelphi University (92%), Assumption University (91%) and Southern New Hampshire University (90%) joining Stonehill among the list of Presidents' Award recipients. The NE10 leads Division II for the fifth-straight year with a conference ASR of 89%.
"Each year the Stonehill community is pleased to celebrate the Academic Success Rating achieved by our student-athletes," said Dean O'Keefe, '94, Director of Athletics at Stonehill. "Our student-athletes continue to embrace the opportunity to excel in all areas of their collegiate experience, and the ASR scores and NCAA Presidents' Award are a tremendous credit to our student-athletes in their continued pursuit of academic and athletic excellence. This statistic reaffirms the collaborative work of our coaches, faculty and staff in fostering an environment for our students to think, act and lead in preparation for future success."
Corey Thomas, '13 won the NCAA Indoor title for the high jump in 2011. |
Seven of Stonehill's 15 NCAA athletic programs (cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field are combined by the NCAA) received perfect scores of 100%. Those programs include women's basketball, field hockey, men's and women's soccer, women's tennis, men's cross country/track & field and volleyball. 12 of Stonehill's programs had ASR's above the national average, or at least matching a 100% federal rate.
Stonehill enjoyed remarkable success in its fields of competition during the four academic years (2011-2014) included in the most recent ASR report, starting with its second and third of three-straight NE10 Presidents' Cups in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The Skyhawks won 15 NE10 Championships over those four years and earned 28 NCAA Tournament bids, with the men's basketball program reaching the 2012 NCAA Division II National Semifinals after winning the program's second regional championship. Stonehill student-athletes collected 47 All-America awards on their way to graduation, with Corey Thomas, '13 capturing the 2011 Indoor High Jump National Championship. Stonehill Equestrian also had national qualifiers each of those years, highlighted by Emma Zamierowski, '16 capturing an individual National Championship for walk-trot equitation at the 2014 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Nationals, with the team claiming the IHSA Zone 1, Region 4 Championship in 2011-12.
This is the 16th year the NCAA has released the Division II ASR. The NCAA developed the Division II ASR at the request of college and university presidents who believed the federal graduation rate was flawed. Division II's ASR data is similar to the Division I Graduation Success Rate as it takes transfer students into account. However, given the partial-scholarship financial aid model of Division II, ASR goes one step further and includes student-athletes not receiving athletic scholarships.
The Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships. The Division II ASR also captures about 50 percent more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate. Unlike the federal rate, the ASR the more than 31,000 non-scholarship student-athletes and those who transfer to a school after initial enrollment elsewhere, while removing student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible. The national ASR is 76-percent for Division II student-athletes enrolled from 2011 through 2014. Division II student-athletes continue to graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. Even when using the less-inclusive federal graduation rates, student-athletes are outperforming their peers in the general student population by 8%, while selecting degree programs that largely mirror those chosen by the general student body. For Division II athletes who entered college in 2014, the federal rate increased 1 percentage point to 60%, and the general student body increased 1 point to 52%.
With 23 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. Stonehill has won the NE10 Presidents' Cup six times, all coming within the last 16 years.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
NCAA Division II ASR Rankings Top 25
Rk ASR Institution
1. 99 Bentley
99 Saint Michael's
3. 98 Hillsdale
98 Thomas Jefferson
98 Biola
6. 96 Le Moyne
96 Rollins
8. 95 Seattle Pacific
95 Rockhurst
10. 94 Eckerd
94 Maryville
94 Saint Anselm
94 Dominican (Calif.)
14. 93 Michigan Tech
93 Georgia College
93 USciences
93 Trevecca Nazarene
93 Cedarville
93 Point Loma Nazarene
20. 92 Stonehill
92 Adelphi
92 Barry
92 Davis & Elkins
92 Mercyhurst
92 Truman State
92 Regis (Colo.)
92 Western Washington
NCAA Division II Presidents' Award Recipients All Ten Years
Stonehill College – 92%
Bentley University – 99%
Saint Michael's College – 99%
Hillsdale College – 98%
Rollins College – 96%
Rockhurst University – 95%
Seattle Pacific University – 95%
Eckerd College – 94%
University of the Sciences – 93%
Assumption University – 91%
Northeast-10 Conference members in italics
