UGA was one of four football programs in the country to receive the American Football Coaches Association’s 2013 Academic Achievement Award. Presented by the Touchdown Club of Memphis, the award was shared by UGA and Rice, Stanford and Tulane universities.
Each university recorded a 100 percent graduation rate for members of its freshman football student-athlete class of 2006. This is the first time UGA and Tulane have received this award, and the second honor for Rice and Stanford. The award was presented at the President’s Kickoff Luncheon Jan. 13 at the 2014 AFCA convention in Indianapolis.
The 2013 award marks the sixth time the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate formula has been used to select the winner. From 1981 to 2007, the award was presented based on a formula used by the College Football Association and AFCA. Since 2008, the criteria for the AFCA’s Academic Achievement Award is based on the highest NCAA GSR, at least 15 students in the GSR cohort and a federal graduation rate of 75 percent or better.
Forty-six other institutions were recognized for graduating 75 percent or more of their football student-athletes. Twelve of those institutions—Army, Boston College, Duke, East Carolina, Louisiana Tech, Nebraska, Northwestern, South Florida, TCU, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Washington—achieved a rate of 90 percent or better.