Two UNCG teams honored by NCAA for high ratings in APR
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Two UNC Greensboro athletic programs received accolades for historically perfect Academic Progress Report (APR) scores when the NCAA released its list of Public Recognition Awards on Wednesday afternoon.
The women's golf and women's basketball programs received awards for historical honors, having a perfect 1,000 APR scores for the period of four academic years from 2005-2009 (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09). The women's basketball program received the award for the third consecutive year, having reached a perfect APR now for six consecutive academic years.
The women's basketball squad was one of 43 in Division I to be honored on Wednesday, while the women's golf program was one of 62 in its sport to be honored.
"We are proud of our Spartan women's basketball and women's golf teams for having perfect APR scores," said UNCG Director of Athletics Kim Record. "With so many variables that come into play, it's not easy to reach the perfect score of 1,000. It is, however, a goal that each of our sports aspire to."
In the five years of the NCAA's academic reform program, 1,747 teams have received Public Recognition Awards, representing 27.7 percent of eligible sports teams during that time. Of that total, 319 teams have received Public Recognition Awards each of the five years of the program, including UNCG's women's basketball squad.
The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.
High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards this year posted APR scores ranging from 978 to a perfect 1,000. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on how many achieved perfect scores. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years.
As APR scores improve, the threshold for teams to earn a place in the top 10 percent in their sport continues to rise. Last year, a total of 767 teams were recognized, after 712 teams were recognized in the spring of 2008.
Of the 6,297 Division I teams, a record total of 841 were publicly recognized for having APR scores in the Top 10 percent for their respective sports. Broken down by gender, there were 492 women's teams and 348 men's or mixed squads that received the recognition - both of which were an increase over last year. The 841 teams publicly recognized this year for high achievement represent 13.4 percent of the 6,297 Division I teams.
UNCG was one of 144 institutions with multiple teams receiving a Public Recognition Award. A total of 228 institutions out of the 331 in Division I had at least one team recognized. Another six schools that offer athletics in more than one division, out of 50 overall that do so within the NCAA, placed Division I teams on the list as well.
Inside the Southern Conference, nine of the 12 member schools had at least one team receive a Public Recognition Award. A total of 42 Southern Conference teams received Public Recognition Awards on Thursday, which are four more than a year ago. There were 27 women's teams and 15 men's teams honored in the league on Wednesday.
The NCAA's full release of APR data for all of the Division I teams will take place later this spring.
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