Iowa State University Athletics
Iowa State Continues Strong Performance With GSR Score
11.19.2025 | Athletics
AMES, Iowa – In an ever-changing intercollegiate athletics landscape, one area that hasn't changed has been the demonstrated excellence of Iowa State University student-athletes in the classroom, as their 95 percent institutional Graduation Success Rate (GSR) score equaled the school-record for the fourth-straight year, according to the 2025 Division I academic performance metrics released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
"We are proud of the commitment to classroom excellence that our student-athletes demonstrate and our latest GSR scores offer further testament to their dedication to earning a degree from Iowa State University while continuing to excel in the sport that they play," ISU Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard said. "The culture that our coaches and academic services staff have established allows our student-athletes to thrive while reaching their full potential academically, athletically, and individually over the course of their Cyclone journey.
"Iowa State's dedicated faculty and staff continue to play a key role in providing an academic environment that allows our student-athletes to excel in, and we are grateful for their continued support," he added. "Graduation remains the expectation for all Cyclone student-athletes, and this report again demonstrates our ongoing commitment to helping them achieve that important milestone."
ISU's institutional GSR has improved over the last 11 years, from 77 percent in 2014 to its 95 percent mark the past four years, while equaling or establishing a school-record every year during that span. Iowa State's 2025 mark also came in five points higher than the most-recent NCAA FBS average and four points better than the Big 12 average as it eclipsed the 90 percent mark for the seventh-straight year.
The Cyclones 95 percent 2025 institutional GSR score ranked third in the Big 12 Conference behind Cincinnati (97) and West Virginia (96). Utah (95), Baylor (94), UCF (94), Arizona State (93), Kansas State (93), Arizona (92), Oklahoma State (92), Colorado (90), Kansas (90), TCU (87), Texas Tech (85), Houston (82) and BYU (80) trailed ISU.
Iowa State's 92 percent GSR for its male student-athletes tied the 2024 school record, and ranked third in the Big 12, while its female student-athlete GSR of 97 percent tied for sixth in the conference, and topped 90 percent for the 20th-consecutive year.
Eight Cyclone programs led the Big 12 with perfect four-year GSR scores of 100 percent—men's golf, women's basketball, women's golf, gymnastics, softball, women's tennis, women's track & field/cross country and volleyball. ISU's women's golf program recorded a perfect GSR for the 21st-consecutive year, while gymnastics had its 17th-straght 100 percent performance, softball its 10th-straight such effort and men's golf its eighth-straight year of perfection.
The Cyclones' women's track & field/cross country team posted a perfect GSR score for the sixth-straight year while women's tennis produced a perfect score for the fifth-straight year and women's basketball had its fourth-straight 100 percent mark. Volleyball posted its first perfect GSR score since 2020.
ISU football produced a program-record GSR of 95 percent for the second-straight year to rank second in the Big 12 and men's track & field/cross country tied for third in the league with a school-record 93 percent mark. Wrestling (85 percent, tied for seventh), men's basketball (82 percent, tied for eighth), women's swimming & diving (96 percent, tied for seventh), and women's soccer (90 percent, 15th) completed the Cyclone rankings.
In the annual student-athlete Federal Graduation Rates survey which was released alongside the NCAA's GSR metrics, Iowa State's single-year rate of 73 percent was third in the Big 12 Conference, while its four-year 70 percent rate ranked fourth in the league.
The GSR was developed by the NCAA with the entering freshmen class of 1995 to assess student-athlete's academic performance more accurately. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the fed survey. The GSR also accounts for mid-year enrollees and is calculated for every sport. Under the calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing students who leave in good academic standing. The outgoing transfers are included in the receiving institution's GSR cohort. The most-recent Division I Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering classes from 2015-18.
