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. Aaron Burbridge Jersey. A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. 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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets are giving Austin Seferian-Jenkins a chance to redeem himself off the field and get his NFL career back on track.The talented but troubled tight end was claimed off waivers Monday from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who cut him last week after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence.Seferian-Jenkins, in his third NFL season, was a second-round draft pick out of the University of Washington in 2014. He had three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown in two games this season, and has 45 career receptions for 603 yards and seven TDs.To make room on the active roster, the Jets waived linebacker Julian Stanford.The Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release last Friday that Seferian-Jenkins was driving between 75 and 80 mph on Interstate 275 when his vehicle cut in front of a troopers cruiser and weaved back and forth. Sgt. Steve Gaskins said Seferian-Jenkins was charged with DUI and violation of an ignition interlock device restriction from an arrest in Washington in 2013.Seferian-Jenkins refused a breath test at the Hillsborough County Jail and was released by the Buccaneers later that day.We are very disappointed in todays news, Bucs general manager Jason Licht said in a statement last Friday.dddddddddddd After careful consideration, we felt this was the right decision at this time.Seferian-Jenkins could face a suspension as discipline by the NFL for possibly violating the leagues personal conduct policy.The 6-foot-5 Seferian-Jenkins, who turns 24 on Thursday, could potentially help the Jets in the red zone, where the team has struggled this season. New York is 6 for 16 on scoring touchdowns inside the opponents 20 in three games.However, offensive coordinator Chan Gailey rarely uses traditional tight ends in the passing game. With the addition of Seferian-Jenkins, the Jets now have four tight ends on the roster with Kellen Davis, Brandon Bostick and Braedon Bowman -- and none has any catches this season.Last season, tight ends had only eight receptions, with Jeff Cumberland catching five passes and Davis three.---AP Sports Writer Fred Goodall in Tampa, Florida, contributed.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '