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INDIANAPOLIS – Three Niagara University athletic programs were recognized in the 2017 NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program (APP) for ranking in the top 10 percent in their respective sport announced on Wednesday.

The men’s and women’s cross country and men’s tennis programs all had scores in the top 10 percent of their respective sport. This is the seventh straight top-10 ranking for the women’s cross country program and is the sixth straight report the men’s cross country team has been ranked in the top-10. The men’s tennis program is in the top-10 for the second consecutive report.  

Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR).  This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports.  Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport.  The scores required to be in the top 10 ranged from 983 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport. The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship.  The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team’s academic performance.