Graduation rates for major college football players are the lowest they've been since 1985, according to data released by the NCAA.

The 48 percent graduation rate among football players entering the institutions at the top level of Division I (I-A) in 1993 represents a 14 percent decline since rates peaked at 56 percent each for the entering classes of 1988 and 1989. The rate dropped three percentage points from a year ago. It also was 48 percent for the entering class of 1985. The numbers "continue to be depressing," said Stanley Ikenberry, president of the American Council on Education, a Washington-based organization whose membership includes all but two of the 114 Division I-A schools. "The graduation rates are seriously below those for other students, and the same is true in men's basketball."

"We're concerned about the decline in rates among football players," NCAA President Cedric Dempsey said in a statement. "We need to start looking at what some of the reasons might be for this decline."

The latest report, compiled from data the NCAA is required to file annually with the Department of Education, measured the graduation rates among athletes on athletic scholarships who entered school as freshmen in fall 1993, allowing them six years to earn a degree. Athletes who transferred in good academic standing were not counted as graduates of any school.

For the eighth straight year, the overall graduation rate among all scholarship athletes--58 percent for the second straight year--surpassed the rate of the general student population. The overall NCAA rate has been 58 or 57 percent in each of the eight years.

Four schools, including Georgetown, have graduated every entering freshman athlete who exhausted their eligibility over the 10-year period from 1984 to 1993. The only major football school in that group was Northwestern; the other perfect schools were Holy Cross and Lafayette. Thirty-four schools--including George Washington (97 percent) and Virginia (95 percent)--had graduation rates of at least 95 percent among athletes in this category. Other ACC and regional schools in this category included Mount St. Mary's (99), William and Mary (99), Richmond (99), Loyola (96) and Duke (95).

"It's a tremendous accomplishment," said Patricia Thomas, Georgetown senior associate athletic director. "However, it's consistent with the goals and mission of this athletic department. . . . This is not rhetoric. We hold our coaches accountable" in determining contract renewals and merit pay increases.

Among Division I-A schools in the Washington area, Maryland graduated 44 percent of its football players, Virginia 76 percent and Virginia Tech 45 percent. Navy also plays Division I-A football but does not award athletic scholarships as such.

The graduating rate for men's basketball players at the 114 schools is 34 percent, 23 percentage points, or nearly 40 percent lower, than all male freshmen that year.

Maryland graduated 25 percent of that year's male freshmen basketball players. It graduated 20 percent (three of 15) of its men's basketball players over the latest four-year period. Of that group, only Joe Smith currently plays in the NBA.

The men's basketball graduation rate for all 321 Division I schools--including those that play football at a lower level (I-AA) or do not play football at all (I-AAA)--is 42 percent. That represents a 1 percent increase over last year but is 15 percentage points less than the rate at which nearly 210,000 male freshmen that year graduated.