STAFF REPORTS
BUFFALO — The NCAA released annual Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) data on Thursday afternoon and nine UB programs had perfect single-year rates for 2015-16, while men’s tennis continues to lead the charge with a perfect four-year rate.
On the women’s side, all nine programs were above 985, including seven programs that had a perfect 1,000 score in 2015-16: Women’s Basketball, Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Rowing, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Swimming and Diving, Women’s Tennis, and Women’s Volleyball.
Men’s Tennis, which received the APR Public Recognition Award last week, had a perfect 1,000 score in 2015-16 as did Men’s Soccer. In all, four men’s programs have a multi-year score of above 980 including Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Soccer, Men’s Swimming and Diving, and Men’s Tennis.
Wrestling has had one of the biggest turnarounds coming off an APR ban in 2014-15 to reach a single year rate of 989 for 2015-16 and an overall four-year rate of 958.
APR scores are based on retention and eligibility of each scholarship student-athlete. Each student-athlete can earn four points per year – one point for first-semester eligibility, one point for first-semester retention, one point for second-semester eligibility, and one point for second-semester retention. The total points earned are then divided by total points possible and the decimal place is dropped for the APR score.
The APR is a real-time measure of eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes competing on every NCAA Division I athletics team. The most recent scores are based on a multi-year rate that averages scores from the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years. The goal of academic reform is improvement, not punishment. Not only does academic reform ensure accountability for student-athletes, teams and institutions, but it also provides fairness by considering individual circumstances per team and school.
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