COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Eleven intercollegiate sport programs at the University of Maryland earned perfect single-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores for the 2018-19 academic year, as announced by the NCAA. Men's golf, women's basketball, women's cross country, field hockey, women's golf, gymnastics, women's lacrosse, softball, women's soccer, women's track, and the volleyball teams posted single-year APR scores of 1000, the most programs to earn perfect single-year APR scores since the inception by the NCAA in 2003.
  The women's golf and gymnastics teams both earned multi-year scores of 1000 and earned NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards for excellence within their sports.

In total, 12 intercollegiate sport programs at the University of Maryland improved their single-year APR scores, while an additional three programs maintained their single-year scores.

"I want to salute and congratulate our student-athletes and our Gossett Center staff on a record-setting year," said Athletic Director Damon Evans. "To have 11 programs, the most in Maryland history, post a perfect 1000 APR score is an impressive accomplishment, something we take a lot of pride in. Our commitment to academic excellence is demonstrated by 12 programs improving their single-year scores year-over-year. These are tremendous achievements to be celebrated."

Women's golf (1000) and gymnastics (1000) tied their program high multi-year scores while baseball (971) posted its highest multi-year score in program history since the inception of the APR in 2003.

Football earned a multi-year score of 956 and single-year APR score of 954. It points to a positive trend for the football program, which has made significant strides since 2009-10 when the multiyear was 922 and the single-year was 905.

Women's basketball and men's basketball earned multi-year rates of 963 and 959, respectively. Women's basketball's single-year score of 1000 is its first perfect single-year APR score since 2014-15, while men's basketball's single-year score of 961 is its second-highest in the last four years.

"I'm extremely proud of our student-athletes, GSAC staff, and coaches for their commitment to academic excellence," Brady Rourke, Director of the Gossett Center, said. "Our Academic Performance Rates (APR) reflect an athletics culture committed to high academic achievement, which values success in the classroom and community, as much as the court. Congratulations to teams with unblemished single-year scores of 1,000 during the 2018-2019 academic year. The accomplishment is truly remarkable and well-deserved."

The newly released multi-year APR scores are comprised of data submitted for 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. The APR index was developed by the NCAA to provide a "real time" snapshot on a semester-by-semester basis in order to measure the eligibility and retention of student-athletes in all Division I institutions. 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, all student-athletes receiving athletics financial aid are considered "counters" and each semester receives one point for retention/graduation and one point for meeting NCAA and University of Maryland eligibility standards for competition. The maximum number of APR points a student-athlete can earn in an academic year is four (2 in the fall semester and 2 in the spring semester). A team's APR is the total number of eligibility/retention points earned divided by the maximum number of points possible. This APR number is then multiplied by 1000. (For example, a team that receives 94 percent of all possible points would have a team APR of 940.)