Oct. 15, 2008

LUBBOCK, Texas - The numbers are in and Texas Tech Football student-athletes are earning degrees. In the latest Graduation Success Rates released by the NCAA, Texas Tech graduated 79 percent of its football players that entered the program out of high school or transferred in between 1998 and 2001 and graduated within six years.

"Academics are top priority at Texas Tech and we can't stress enough the importance of getting the work done in the classroom," Texas Tech Head Coach Mike Leach said. "Our players do an excellent job of balancing the classroom with football and are committed to working toward and receiving their degrees. Our academics support staff here does a great job of preparing our players for the classroom."

Tech's 79 percent rate ranks the program first in the Big 12 Conference, one percentage point ahead of Nebraska and Baylor. Other Big 12 programs rank as follows: Colorado (75%), Kansas State (67%), Oklahoma State (62%), Missouri (59%), Texas A&M (56%), Iowa State (55%), Kansas (53%), Texas (50%) and Oklahoma (46%). Texas Tech has consistently posted one of the top graduation rates in the country, ranking among the American Football Coaches Association's top 30 each of the last eight years.

Additionally, Tech's percentage is third among current USA Today Coaches Poll top 25 programs, behind No. 23 Vanderbilt (91%) and No. 19 Wake Forest (83%). Only nine programs in the top 25 recorded graduation rates higher than the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) average of 67 percent.