Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds?

Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - Printable Version

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Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - oldalum - 06-29-2016

I keep reading in memorializing stories that she graduated 100% of her players who "completed their eligibility at Tennessee." Is this statistic as great as it sounds, or is it just padded mythologizing of someone who doesn't really need it?

What does this mean--i.e., what paths could/did players follow that are not included in this statistic? How does it compare to APR? The most recent average 4-year rolling-average APR for all NCAA W basketball programs is 978; Tennessee's is 979, which seems very average to me (Stanford's is 1000). Looking at the past 11 4-year rolling-average APR scores, all 11 of Stanford W basketball's scores exceed 979, while only 3 of Tennessee's scores do. Tennessee has only one 1000 score, we have 4.

Thanks.

Re: Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - BostonCard - 06-29-2016

If a player dropped out of school before exhausting eligibility, she doesn't factor into the numerator or denominator in the calculation.

BC

Re: Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - oldalum - 06-29-2016

so the statistic means, she graduated everyone who didn't drop out of school or transfer? Or put another way, every women's basketball player who stayed in school at UT for 4 or 5 years ended up graduating? That's a reasonable statistic, it means they weren't just keeping the players around to just stay eligible and play, but it needs to be complemented by an appraisal of the number of players who dropped out (or left UT) before graduating. More meaningful to me would be, what percentage of W basketball players who enrolled at UT ended up graduating from UT (or another school)?

Re: Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - Mick - 06-29-2016

(06-29-2016, 10:53 AM)oldalum link Wrote:More meaningful to me would be, what percentage of W basketball players who enrolled at UT ended up graduating from UT (or another school)?

When I matriculated back in the Stone Age of 1980, I remember reading an odd metric, that 68% of incoming freshmen at my alma mater graduated, whereas 95% of the sophomores graduated.Â Seems like a high number of transfers and dropouts, but may explain why Summitt relies on the completion-of-eligibility metric.

Re: Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - Farm93 - 06-29-2016

Few thoughts.
100% of those that exhausted their eligibility is quite the qualifier.Â No doubt.Â
This WAS Tennessee though.Â Anything even close to that type of claim is far more impressive at Tennessee than at a place with high overall graduation rates, like Stanford.
Also, this legendary figure literally just passed away.Â Seems fine to me to call it 100% and move along.

Clearly she was a legend that left far too early.Â And that is too bad as she likely would have done so much for the women's game if she had lived in good health for 15-20 years to tell her stories during game broadcasts like we get from other great coaches in different sports (Madden, Wooden, etc. etc.).Â

Re: Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - oldalum - 06-29-2016

good point about comparing to the non-athletic graduation rate. I'm not trying to detract from her legacy, it is stupendous enough on its own that it doesn't need exaggeration. The "100% graduation rate" sounds impressive but seems a little misleading, and there's no need to mislead to give her her due. I'm just a little resistant to the tendency to deify everything about a great person when they die. What's wrong with just calling her the best and most important and influential college women's basketball coach ever, and an incredible friend and person? Does she have to have graduated 100% of her players too? Don't think she needs it.

Re: Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - donkey687 - 06-29-2016

I have a high school friend who played as a frosh for Summit and was driven out for disciplinary reasons and went on to play for and graduate from another major program.Â Despite being driven out, my friend has nothing but the greatest respect for Pat and says she owes her a lot.

Re: Pat Summit's player graduation record--as good as it sounds? - terry - 06-29-2016

I think it's a fraud to tout a 100% graduation rate, when it is based only on[size=1em] players who completed their four years of eligibility at Tennessee.[/size][size=0.7em]
[/size]
[size=1em]Basketball is a spring semester sport. Any eligible senior player would be in her last semester. There should be a 100% grad rate among senior players in their last semester. It's really not a big accomplishment. [/size]

[size=1em]O[/size][size=1em]f course, measuring the graduation rate only for seniors in their last semester excludes all the attrition among players in their first three and a half years. Tennessee is saying "Excluding all the players who left in their first three and a half years, the graduation rate was perfect." Meh.[/size]

[size=1em]I checked the federal grad rates for Tennessee women's basketball for the classes entering from 1999 through 2008. The rolling four-class federal grad rates ranged from 58% to 85%. Not terrible. But not anywhere near 100%.[/size]

[size=1em]I'm much more impressed with standard graduation rates than with these non-standard metrics that some schools like to create.[/size]