Poll:
What should be the miminum graduation rate for postseason play?
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The University of Washington men's basketball team would not be dancing in the NCAA tournament Thursday, if the U.S. Secretary of Education had his way.
Sec. Arne Duncan is proposing that teams be required to have a graduation rate of at least 40 percent or be banned from postseason play, according to published reports.
Washington reportedly has a graduation rate of 29 percent.
"If you can't graduate two out of five of your student-athletes, how serious are you about the academic part of your mission?" said Duncan.
If the idea were put in place for this year's tournament, twelve of the 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament would be ineligible. That includes No. 1 seed Kentucky, which has a graduation rate of 31 percent. Maryland would be the lowest-rated school, with a graduation rate of just eight percent.
The figures reportedly do not include transfers or players who leave early for the NBA.
The Dept. of Education can't impose Duncan's proposed section on NCAA schools, but reports indicate Duncan plans to use his office to advocate for reform.
