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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 of 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 The Associated Press Top 25 football teams, 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 had 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 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, UConn athletic director David Benedict said.Duane Underwood Jr. Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Carlos Zambrano Jersey . 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Jose Quintana Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner.OPELIKA, Ala. -- Jhonattan Vegas lead was down to three strokes Saturday when rain finally stopped third-round play in the Barbasol Championship.Six shots ahead after a course-record 11-under 60 on Friday, Vegas was 1 over for the round and 16 under overall playing the par-4 14th when play was stopped on Grand Nationals Lake Course.The 29-year-old Venezuelan Olympic qualifier failed to qualify for the British Open and has only past champion status -- he won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic for his lone tour title -- on the PGA Tour. The winner Sunday will get a two-year exemption and a spot in the PGA Championship, but will not be exempt for the Masters.David Toms and Aaron Baddeley were 13 under.Play resumed at about 3 p.m. after a 90-minute delay and was stopped for the day at about 5:15 p.m. About 1 1/2 inches of rain fell Saturday on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail facility.The 49-year-old Toms was 4 under for the day with four holes left.Baddeley shot a 64, chipping in on the par-4 18th for his third straight birdie. The 35-year-old Australian, also limited tto past champion status, won the last of his three titles in 2011 at Riviera.ddddddddddddll I was thinking is just playing golf, Baddeley said. If you try and force the issue, thats usually when you go backwards. I was just trying to play golf, just keep playing, keep hitting good shots and, if I keep doing that, theres a chance Im going to shoot a low score and I did that.Michael Johnson, the former Auburn player making his pro debut, was tied for fourth at 11 under with five holes to go.Sam Saunders also was 11 under along with Stuart Appleby, Brian Harman, Roberto Castro and Hudson Swafford. Saunders, Arnold Palmers grandson, shot a 65.Its just a nice solid round, I played really well, Saunders said. Momentum got thrown off a little bit there with the rain delay, but Im still pleased with the way I finished and put myself in a good position for tomorrow.Appleby had a 66. Harman had two holes left, Castro four, and Swafford five. ' ' '