PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh's football program was in disarray when Walt Harris took over in 1996 and the team had an academic record to match.

According to an NCAA report last year, only 16 percent of Pitt's scholarship recruits graduated in a six-year time frame - dead last among the 117 Division I-A schools.

The numbers will be somewhat better - 31 percent - when the new report comes out in a few weeks, but it doesn't tell the entire story, according to Pitt athletic director Jeff Long.

"Our graduation rate projections will continue to climb," Long said. "Next year, we project that to be somewhere around 53 percent." That is just under the national average of 54 percent.

"We're excited about the progress that we're making," he said. "We know that 31 percent is not good and we're not proud of it, but we're doing everything we can to improve those rates."

There were 13 recruits in Harris' first class, a reflection of the transitional state of the football program and the fact that Harris arrived in December of that year, relatively late.

Harris played with a lean roster, bringing just 82 total players on his first postseason trip to the 1997 Liberty Bowl.

Of the first 13 recruits from 1996, four players graduated in six years. Three transferred, and two were dismissed for disciplinary reasons. One left early for the NFL and "is making a considerable living right now," said Long. Two players just graduated (in just over six years) and another played out his eligibility without getting a degree.

There were 19 scholarship seniors last year, the most successful class with four straight bowl appearances, and 15 have already graduated. Three will finish up this year, so 18 of 19 will graduate - a rate of 95 percent.

Among that group, five were drafted and five signed free-agent contracts. The one player that will not graduate anytime soon is in good academic standing and could come back, depending on how he fares in the NFL.

"Going six year's back is one snapshot of where we are today, but you also should see that our commitment to academic success has paid off with improvement every year," Long said.

He also pointed out that stellar student Brandon Miree, in the NFL, doesn't count positively for Pitt even though he graduated since he transferred from Alabama. This will change next year when transfers in good academic standing won't count against a school.