PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Ivy League once again leads the nation in NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) with a combined average over 97 percent across its eight institutions for student-athletes who began college in 2011.

The accomplishment not only marks the eighth-consecutive year the Ivy League paced the Division I conferences, but also the eighth-straight season an Ivy led all Division I institutions, with Columbia, Dartmouth and Yale among six schools with a GSR of 99.

Reflecting the League’s dedication to elite athletics and academics, no Ivy had a score lower than 95, the only conference to accomplish the feat. Over the same time period that the GSR data was collected, the Ivy League claimed 43 national championships and saw three athletes earn prestigious Rhodes Scholarships.

The Ivy League is included in the NCAA GSR data for the eighth year in a row. The NCAA did not collect graduation rate data for student-athletes who were not receiving athletically-related aid until 2004. League schools have been included in the GSR data since the six-year graduation rate data for those student-athletes who began college in 2004 became available.