CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois University Department of Athletics is graduating over 89 percent of its student athletes according to the 2025 NCAA Graduation Success Rate.

The NCAA released its most recent GSR data Wednesday and it shows Panthers student-athletes who entered school on athletic aid in 2018 posted an 89 percent GSR with eight of 17 measured programs generating a perfect 100 GSR score. Cross Country, indoor and outdoor track & field count as one sport in the measurement. 

The Panthers eight teams teams who achieved a 100% rate over the period include: men's golf, men's swimming, women's golf, softball, women's swimming and volleyball.  EIU also posted 100% rates in men's and women's tennis though the institution no longer sponsors those as intercollegiate sports.  

The Division I Board of Directors created the GSR in response to Division I college and university presidents who wanted data that more accurately reflected the mobility of college students than the federal graduation rate. The federal rate counts any student who leaves a school as an academic failure, no matter whether he or she enrolls at another school. Also, the federal rate does not recognize students who enter school as transfer students.

The GSR formula removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and includes student-athletes who transfer to a school after initially enrolling elsewhere. This calculation makes it a more complete and accurate look at student-athlete success.

The rate also allows for a deeper understanding of graduation success in individual sports than the federal metric, which provides only broad groupings.