TicketsJan. 3, 2007
The of football team's hard work and success in 2006 was recognized with the invitation to play in the International Bowl in on Jan. 6. UC's triumphs in the classroom this season have similarly distinguished the program.
According to a survey conducted by Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson UC is one of 22 bowl-bound schools that scored a "touchdown" for academic achievement. To achieve such statusin Jackson's ratings a team must have at least a 50 percent overall graduation success rate at least a 50 percent black graduation rate and a racial gap of less than 15 percentage points.
UC has a 67 percent overall graduation rate (according to the 2006 National Collegiate Athletic Association Graduation Rates Report) and a 59 percent graduation rate for its African-American players. The Bearcats rank 19th among the 64 bowl-bound teams in graduation percentage and 18th in the grad rate of its African-Americans.
also awarded "first downs" to 15 universities competing in bowl games this season. These schools had overall and black graduation rates of at least 50 percent but with a racial gap of more than 15 percent. There were 27 schools that would be disqualified using 's guidelines. These programs have a black graduation rate of less than 50 percent.
has been making strides on and off the field with the advent of UC Director of Athletics ' action plan CATAPULT.
The plan includes BIG EAST Championships in every sport within the next five years continued leadership by UC student-athletes in academics and community engagement.
Other academic accomplishments for the UC football team include:
- Earning the American Football Coaches Association's Academic Achievement Award. (UC was one of 28 schools to achieve a graduation rate of 70 percent or above for the entering freshman class of 2000-01.)
- Brent Celek was selected as one of 148 semifinalists for the 2006 Draddy Trophy and is a candidate for a 2006 National Scholar-Athlete Award by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF). Celek is one of five semifinalists from the BIG EAST Conference.