NCAA Releases New APR Rates
6/9/2010 8:00:00 AM | Terrapin Athletics
June 9, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Nineteen of 26 NCAA intercollegiate teams at the University of Maryland posted multi-year Academic Progress Rates (APR) at or above national averages for their sport at Division I public institutions based on data released Wednesday by the NCAA.
Those programs in the report were led by the women's lacrosse team, which was noted for public recognition recently, as its APR was among the top 10 percent of programs nationally. The women's lacrosse team earned a perfect rate of 1,000 and won the NCAA national championship.
Fifteen Maryland programs were in the 50th percentile or higher when compared with the same sport at other institutions nationally.
APR data submitted for the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years is included in the figures released. Four-year rolling averages are used for all calculations, with the most recent four years being used.
The APR is the index developed by the NCAA to provide, by team, a real-time snapshot of student-athlete retention and eligibility performance of all Division I institutions. Also allowed are bonus points for student-athletes returning to graduate. The APR is part of a larger package of initiatives, the NCAA Academic Performance Program, which was mandated by the NCAA Board of Directors to improve the academic performance of athletic teams.
In calculating the APR, each student-athlete who receives athletic aid receives one point for continuing as a full-time student or graduating, and one point for remaining eligible to compete each semester. The maximum number of points a student-athlete can earn in an academic year is four. A team's APR is the total number of points earned divided by the maximum number of points possible. This APR number is then multiplied by 1,000. (For example, a team which receives 94 percent of all possible points would have a team APR of 940.)
The APR has established a benchmark, called the cut score, under which contemporaneous penalties could be imposed in the form of scholarship reductions for those teams which fall below the cut score. The cut score was established at 925 and equates to an approximate 50 percent graduation rate.
All intercollegiate varsity teams tracked by the NCAA that are sponsored by the University of Maryland were above the cut score in the multiyear rate, with the exception of men's basketball.
Men's basketball APR has risen each of the last three years as it continues to make steady academic progress. Maryland has graduated 12 of the last 14 seniors in the men's basketball program, including the four seniors from last season who have graduated or are on track to finish this summer. In addition, the single-year APR for men's basketball for 2008-09 is 962.
Despite being below the 925 cut score, the Maryland men's basketball program will not be subject to contemporaneous penalties, as those student-athletes who did not receive graduation or retention points had exhausted their eligibility. Eleven of the 19 points lost by men's basketball in the four-year period were due to student-athletes who left to pursue professional basketball careers and who had exhausted their eligibility. Three other points were lost by student-athletes who transferred in good academic standing and did not earn a point for retention.
MARYLAND'S MULTIYEAR APR SCORES (2005-06 to 2008-09)
University of Maryland Average APR for Div. I
Sport Team APR Public Institutions
Baseball 955 946
Men's Basketball 913 931
Men's Cross Country 976 962
Football 929 937
Men's Golf 978 963
Men's Lacrosse 985 971
Men's Soccer 971 953
Men's Swimming & Diving 981 964
Men's Tennis 945 959
Men's Indoor Track & Field 955 950
Men's Outdoor Track & Field 950 951
Wrestling 927 949
Women's Basketball 971 960
Women's Cross Country 981 970
Field Hockey 994 984
Women's Golf 970 978
Women's Gymnastics 985 984
Women's Lacrosse 1,000 987
Women's Soccer 992 970
Softball 966 966
Women's Swimming & Diving 974 977
Women's Tennis 986 975
Women's Indoor Track & Field 981 962
Women's Outdoor Track & Field 981 963
Women's Volleyball 986 972
Women's Water Polo 976 963
