Centre News
Centre ranks 40th among NCAA Division III colleges for academics and athletics
October 14, 2010 By Leigh Ivey
Centre was recently ranked 40th among NCAA Division IIIcolleges and 65th overall for comprehensive performance in
academics and athletics by NCSA Athletic Recruiting.
Swimming is one of the 23 athletic offerings at Centre, wheremore than 30 percent of students participate on varsity teams.
In the 2010 NCAA Athletic Recruiting’s Collegiate Power Rankings, Centre College has been ranked 40th among NCAA Division III colleges and 65th overall for comprehensive performance in both academics and athletics.
The rankings, which assess the academic and athletics standards of all the NCAA athletic programs in the United States, include the nation’s top 100 NCAA schools.
Chris Krause, CEO and Founder of NCSA Athletic Recruiting, says, “The Power Rankings are an objective tool to empower student athletes to find the right fit in a college or university, not only for its athletics, but academics as well.”
He adds, “Our hope is to educate these student athletes and their parents on the importance of evaluating schools that will provide the education for an enriched, successful career after college, in addition to athletic success.”
To evaluate the schools, NCSA Athletic Recruiting averaged each school’s student-athlete graduation rate (provided by the NCAA), its academic rankings provided by U.S. News & World Report, and the strength of its athletic departments as determined by the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup ranking.
At Centre, student-athletes, coaches and professors work to create balance between sports and schoolwork. “It all starts with President Roush, who was a student-athlete in his collegiate days,” says Brian Chafin, Centre’s director of athletics and recreation. “He knows the value of athletics in a student’s life, but he most definitely places the academic experience above all else.”
Centre’s coaches, like Roush, advise their teams unequivocally to put academics first. Each coach, Chafin says, tells his or her team to “make sure you’re academically sound before you step on the practice or competition site so you can focus on the task at hand athletically.”
To see the complete NCAA Division III rankings, click here.
Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail leigh.ivey@centre.edu with your feedback.
Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Forbes magazine ranks Centre 24th among all the nation's colleges and universities and No. 1 among all institutions of higher education in the South. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, click here.