Duke is leading the Atlantic Coast Conference in a statistic not frequently reported in the sports pages. The Blue Devils topped the league in the percentage of student-athletes who graduated in 6 years.
97 percent of the student-athletes who came to Duke in 2004 graduated by 2010. That ties Boston College for the best rate in the ACC. The NCAA graduation rate does not take into student-athletes who leave school in good academic standing.
Wake Forest was right behind at 94 percent. UNC-Chapel Hill came in at 88 percent. All beat the national average for student-athletes of 82 percent.
NC State came in last place in the league. Just 74 percent of the Wolfpack's student-athletes graduated in 6 years. Officials say they are working to improve the number, and contend that frequent coaching changes added to the poor showing. N-C State also has the lowest federal graduation rate in the ACC for all students.
