STAFF REPORTS
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Five of Canisius’ varsity sports programs have been honored with the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Award, the NCAA announced Wednesday.
The five Canisius programs honored on Wednesday are men’s cross country, golf, men’s swimming and diving, men’s track and rowing. The awards are presented each year by the NCAA. To be recognized, a program must rank in the top-10 percent within its sport nationally, according to overall team academic performance during a four-year period. The current period released ended with the 2015-16 academic year.
The golf team has been honored by the NCAA with an APR Public Recognition Award in each of the last six years, the longest active streak among Canisius athletic teams. The men’s cross country team was highlighted by the NCAA for the fifth consecutive year; while the rowing team extended its streak of APR Public Recognition Awards to four straight. The men’s swimming and diving program earned its first APR Public Recognition Award. Canisius boasts the only men’s swimming and diving program in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) to receive the honor this year. The NCAA also announced that the Canisius men’s track program earned its first APR Public Recognition Award.
Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement. The rate measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester. 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.
The scores required to be in the top-10 ranged from 983 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport. A total of 944 programs earned a perfect APR score. The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2011-2012, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years.
Overall, 1,203 teams received the APR award, including 746 women’s and 457 men’s or mixed squads. Full APR data on all NCAA Division I programs will be released on Wednesday, May 10.
Canisius All-Time APR Honorees (31 total)
- 2004-05: women’s cross country and volleyball
- 2005-06: women’s basketball and volleyball
- 2006-07: women’s basketball and volleyball
- 2008-09: volleyball
- 2010-11: golf
- 2011-12: men’s cross country, golf, volleyball
- 2012-13: men’s cross country, golf, women’s basketball, rowing, volleyball
- 2013-14: men’s cross country/track, women’s cross country/track, golf, rowing, volleyball
- 2014-15: men’s cross country/track, women’s cross country/track, golf, hockey, rowing
- 2015-16: men’s cross country, golf, men’s track, men’s swimming and diving, rowing
