NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Graduation rates for student-athletes at Tennessee's three major public universities are slightly below the national average.

State educators said the data, released this week by the NCAA, disprove the perception that athletes don't perform well in the classroom. The information also leaves them wondering why the state is behind the rest of the country.

According to federal graduation rates released by the NCAA, the overall graduation rate for men and women in all sports is 77 percent.

In Tennessee, the rates are 67 percent at Memphis, 70 percent at Middle Tennessee State and 75 percent at the University of Tennessee.

Vanderbilt, a private university, had the state's highest student-athlete graduation average at 94 percent among the major athletic programs.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)