University of Nevada, Reno student-athletes are graduating at a rate of 85 percent, matching the school’s record-high number. The data was part of the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate annual report. 

Nevada leapt from 81 to 85 percent in last year and maintained the high-water mark in this year’s report. 

“The clear commitment shown by our Wolf Pack student-athletes, coaches, athletic academic staff and administration is evident in the program’s latest Graduation Success Rate,” University President Brian Sandoval said. “Last year’s record-setting percentage is now equaled by this year’s mark of 85 percent. Our Wolf Pack student-athletes hold themselves to an extremely high standard in the classroom, on the playing field and in their equally impactful engagement with our community. Their success as student-athletes at our institution is an exciting development for the communities they will one day serve as citizen leaders.” 

This is the 16th year that the NCAA has calculated data for the GSR and the Wolf Pack's rate has risen 11 times in that span. The Wolf Pack's first score was 62 percent in 2005 and the GSR has risen steadily since, setting its previous high-water mark of 81 percent in the 2017 report. Overall, Nevada has seen more than 1,100 of its student-athletes graduate in the past 13 years, a figure that includes more than 100 student-athletes who participated in commencement ceremonies this past academic year. 

“Wolf Pack student-athletes, coaches and staff are winning in the classroom and on the field of competition,” Athletics Director Doug Knuth said. “We appreciate their efforts and dedication, and the entire Wolf Pack community can take pride in the program they support. We are grateful for the support from our world-class faculty and campus leadership. And we are fortunate to have the support of our fans who support our student-athletes in their academic success as well as their athletic success.” 

This year's GSR is based on student-athletes who began enrollment in the fall of 2013 or the spring of 2014 and received athletic aid in their first year of college. The Graduation Success Rate was developed by the NCAA as part of its academic reform initiative to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. 

The Division I Board of Directors created the GSR in 2002 in response to Division I college and university presidents who wanted data that more accurately reflected the mobility of college students beyond what the federal graduation rate measures. The federal rate counts as an academic failure any student who leaves a school, 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 provides a more accurate appraisal of 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.