Owls Continue to Shine in NCAA APR Report
5/2/2023 4:50:00 PM | Baseball, Football, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Men's Tennis, Men's Track & Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Women's Tennis, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball
Eight perfect four-year scores, 11 perfect one-year marks
The NCAA released its annual Academic Progress Rate data for all member institutions on Tuesday and eight of the Owls' 14 sports posted perfect four-year scores of 1000 while 11 of 14 earned a perfect score in the single-year data.
The Owls' men's cross country, golf, men's tennis, women's basketball, women's cross country, swimming, women's tennis, and volleyball programs each received a four-year perfect score in the latest compilation of data. The women's cross country program has received a perfect score in each of the 19 years the NCAA has released information while women's tennis extended its streak to 15 years followed by volleyball (12 years) and men's cross country (11 years). In addition to those eight teams, soccer, men's basketball, and men's track had a perfect scores in the single-year computations.
The national four-year Academic Progress Rate remained at 984 in the latest study as did Rice's combined average of 995.1
The NCAA has annually released data for both single and four-year periods and honored the top 10 percent in each sport in the four-year compilation with Public Recognition Awards through the 2018-19 school year. Due to the impacts from COVID-19, no awards were announced the past three years and the NCAA did not announce any data in 2021.
This is the second year of publicly reported APRs after a one-year COVID-19 hiatus. Last spring, the Division I Board of Directors approved the release of APR scores but voted to continue the suspension of program penalties.
Each academic year, every Division I sports team across the country calculates its APR using a simple and consistent formula. Each term, scholarship student-athletes can earn 1 point for remaining eligible and 1 point for staying in school or graduating. For schools that do not offer scholarships, recruited student-athletes are tracked.
The Academic Performance Program has established an essential framework for academic excellence. The program provides measurable goals to ensure schools are fulfilling their commitment of equipping student-athletes with the tools and resources necessary to achieve academic success.
Throughout 19 years of the Academic Performance Program, more than 20,000 student-athletes have gone back to school to earn their degrees — earning points for their former team. For the high-profile sports of football, baseball, and men's and women's basketball, more than 10,600 former student-athletes have returned to college to complete their degrees. These student-athletes are typically not counted in the federal graduation rate or Graduation Success Rate calculations.
The minimum APR academic standard for each team is 930. Typically, teams that scored below the benchmark would have to face penalties that encourage an emphasis and prioritization on academics. However, due to the current penalty suspension in place, teams falling below the minimum 930 score will not be subjected to penalties this year.
Normal Academic Performance Program operations with program penalties and loss of access to postseason competition will resume in spring 2024. This will also include the public recognition of high-performing teams
A full list of APRs for each team can be accessed by using the APR searchable database.