e retired in 2010), and the Pav attendance record of 5,840 dates to 1999.But th

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The NCAA announced Tuesday that 77 percent of black mens Division I basketball players who entered college in 2009 earned a degree within six years, up five points from a year earlier and a record high.That improvement helped the overall Graduation Success Rate match last years record of 86 percent of athletes graduating within six years, the NCAA said. Of all black Division I student-athletes, 74 percent graduated within six years. NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a news release the improved rates were hugely significant.Over the last 15 years, the overall Graduation Success Rate has dramatically improved, but the really good news is how college sports helps more and more minority students, especially those playing our highest-profile sport, earn a degree that will help them long after their athletics career is over, he said.The graduation rate for black basketball players is up 31 percentage points over the past 15 years, the NCAA said . Overall, all black male athletes have increased their GSR by 19 percentage points to 70 percent during that time. Black female athletes improved their rate 13 points to 84 percent over that same time.For all Division I athletes, the rate increased 12 percentage points during the past 15 years.B. David Ridpath, an associate professor and sports business and president of The Drake Group, an NCAA watchdog, said the GSR provides only a partial picture, pointing to reports of athletes at North Carolina taking courses aimed at boosting their GPAs in a department popular with athletes.Are we essentially practicing eligibility maintenance, potentially in a major with friendly faculty? he said. Are these kids graduating with a very meaningful, vital degree that can benefit them for the next 50 to 60 years of their life? In some cases, yes, this is happening. But all too often -- and I know this because I worked in college athletics -- were essentially pushing these kids through, keeping them eligible and in cases where they do graduate they might not be graduating with the requisite skills.Among football teams in The Associated Press Top 25 , the only teams with a GSR 65 percent or lower were No. 25 Troy at 65 percent and No. 13 Oklahoma State at 50 percent. Among Top 25 mens basketball teams , No. 4 Oregon had a GSR of 38 percent, No. 25 California 40 percent, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 18 Syracuse and No. 24 Cincinnati all had GSRs of 50 percent, and No. 13 Michigan State has a GSR of 63 percent.The University of Connecticut mens basketball team had one of the lower graduation rates at 22 percent, according to the latest results. But those 2009 numbers were actually a big improvement over previous years. The teams GSR rose from just 8 percent in 2006, 17 percent the following year and 20 percent in 2008.School spokesman Mike Enright said the poor graduation rate reflects the same time period for which UConn was sanctioned by the NCAA and missed the 2013 postseason because of an another indicator, the Academic Progress Rate, which measures whether players are in good academic standing.The school has reported perfect or near perfect APR scores since 2012-13 and is expecting similar numbers this year, Enright said. He also said all current members of the basketball team are on track to graduate.The academic achievement of our mens basketball team has been outstanding the past several years and I have a full expectation that this will continue, athletic director David Benedict said.---AP Sports Writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Storrs, Connecticut, contributed to this report. San Diego Padres Store . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. San Diego Padres Shirts . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. https://www.cheappadresjerseys.us/ . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Padres Jerseys 2019 . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Fake Padres Jerseys . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. The barnyard and zoo animals cant make it Friday night. Theyre shipping up to Boston for hockey. No way around it; their scholarships require it.True story: The dozen or so students who turn out for University of Minnesota womens volleyball matches as cows, pigs, penguins, Super Mario Brothers and a gorilla arent just goofy students. Theyre actually athletes themselves, and outstanding ones at that -- the two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota womens hockey team.Eight live in off-campus housing diagonally across the street from volleyball seniors Sarah Wilhite, Hannah and Paige Tapp, and Katie Schau. The volleyball Gophers are 2-0 when the hockey Gophers show up in costume, and Wilhite and Co. would love to see their pals cheering in the student section at this weekends NCAA regional in Minneapolis.Unfortunately, Friday night is out. The hockey team will be finishing its game at Boston University while, back home, Minnesota meets Missouri in the Sweet 16. But if the volleyball team advances to Saturdays regional final, the hockey team might be back in time to catch some of the match. Hockey starts at 3 p.m. EST and charters home afterward; volleyball tips at 10 p.m.Thats a game-changer, said junior forward Kelly Pannek, the leading scorer in Division I. It would be fun if we could swing by.Gophers volleyball is the hottest ticket on campus these days, reflecting the groundswell of support for Hugh McCutcheons dynamic squad that ranks No. 1 in one national poll and No. 2 in the other.The 27-4 Gophers sold out their last four Big Ten Conference matches at the 5,200-capacity Sports Pavilion -- the Pav for short -- as well as the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. Tickets were so tight for the second round against Hawaii that scalpers worked the perimeter of the Pav, rare for a Minnesota womens game.Athletes claim some of the 200 day-of-the-match student tickets, cramming into small bleachers behind each end line.Showing up in costume isnt unusual at Minnesota. The student section at basketballs Williams Arena, a.k.a. The Barn, is known as The Barnyard, and many dress the part. Basketball coach Richard Pitinos brother Ryan once came to a game in a chicken suit and sat next to their father, Louisville coach Rick Pitino. The photos of them went viral.The hockey dress-up gag began with volleyballs Oct. 29 match against Penn State. Senior defenseman Kelsey Cline said everyone already had their Halloween costumes, so as a goof they decided to wear them to the match. We said, What the heck? Cline said. The Gophers won in straight setts before a raucous crowd of 5,391.ddddddddddddAfter the match we went over to the volleyball girls house, Cline said. They told us how much they loved it and how much it helped them. They said, Youve got to come to the rest of our home games.Conflicting schedules prevented that until Nov. 23, the night before Thanksgiving, when Minnesota faced top-ranked and reigning national champion Nebraska. Hockey coach Brad Frost keeps a stash of costumes in his office for an annual Halloween-themed practice, and the players raided the closet before heading over. Cline dressed as a penguin and Pannek a leprechaun.An even bigger sellout of 5,401 saw Minnesota drop the first two sets and trail 23-20 in the third before rallying to win, 28-26, 25-17, 17-15. The Big Ten Network televised the match and featured the players in crowd shots.It was something funny to do, like high school days, having a theme for the football game, Pannek said. We were just doing something a little bit different and standing out.The atmosphere at the Pav, a converted hockey arena, rocks. Thats not a recent development. Minnesota ranked among the top 10 in NCAA attendance in the final decade of former coach Mike Herberts 15 seasons (he retired in 2010), and the Pav attendance record of 5,840 dates to 1999.But the next four largest crowds all happened since McCutcheon, the two-time U.S. Olympic coach, arrived in 2012. This season, only Nebraska (8,199), Hawaii (6,579) and Wisconsin (5,915) topped the Gophers (4,766) in average home attendance.Because NCAA tournament regulations prohibit the host team from egging on their crowd, the customary public address call-and-response to Minnesota points -- Point U! -- is out for postseason play. But last Saturday night, by the end of Minnesotas three-set victory over Hawaii, some in the crowd yelled Point U! without prompting.Its loud, and the fans are supercrazy, Rainbow Wahine senior middle hitter Annie Mitchem said. It was hard to come back after we were down.McCutcheon appreciates the assist.If people are feeling connected to what were doing, thats great, he said. The reason for that would be, our athletes are authentic. They work hard. Theyre out there competing. Theyre trying to win the next point. And we happen to play in the best league in the country. If you like volleyball, its probably pretty good to watch. Theres no pretense to it.Or with their fans, even if they dont always come as they are. ' ' '