The Eastern Michigan University athletics program had
all of its 21 intercollegiate sports meet the NCAA's criteria
for multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores.
In addition to meeting the APR requirements as a department,
EMU's women's volleyball and women's softball teams were
honored with Public Recognition Awards for scoring in the
top 10 percent in the nation in their respective sports
for multi-year APRs.
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NOT SOFT IN THE CLASSROOM: Sophomore pitcher
Jaclyn Caro is a member of EMU's women's softball
team that was honored with the NCAA's Public
Recognition
Award for scoring in the top 10 percent
in the
nation for multi-year Academic Progress Rate
(APR)
scores. The women's volleyball team garnered
the
same honor. All 21 of EMU's athletics teams met
the NCAA's multi-year APR requirements. |
"We are extremely proud of the fact that all of our
21 teams met the APR requirements," EMU
Director of Athletics Derrick Gragg said. "The fact
that two of our teams, women's volleyball and softball,
were singled out for Public Recognition Awards is absolutely
outstanding. These honors are a direct result of the time
and effort that our student-athletes are spending on their
academic pursuits."
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. It provides
a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.
The APR awards two points to student-athletes who meet
academic eligibility standards (such as satisfactory progress,
GPA and percentage of degree) and who remain with the institution
(retention). 925 is the cut-off score the NCAA Board of
Directors approved for contemporaneous or existing or current
penalties. If a team scores lower than 925, it is subject
to contemporaneous penalties for any student-athlete who
receives "0 for 2" points in a given semester. An "0
for 2" student-athlete is one who is neither academically
eligible nor remains with the institution. To meet this
criteria, a student-athlete might be one who transfers,
leaves the institution for personal reasons or simply drops
out of school.
"We did have one team that scored below 925 (women's indoor
track scored an APR of 908), but the team didn't have any
'zero for two's' so, therefore, they were not penalized," said
Melody Reifel Werner, director of compliance for EMU Athletics.
Reifel Werner said APR scores for EMU's women's teams
were: volleyball, 1,000; softball, 996; gymnastics 990;
golf, 984; swimming, 984; tennis, 984; soccer, 979; basketball,
979; rowing, 951; cross country, 949; outdoor track, 928;
and indoor track, 908.
APR scores for EMU's men's teams were: golf, 986; cross
country, 983; baseball, 966; indoor track, 955; outdoor
track, 954; swimming 951; wrestling, 948; football, 934;
and basketball, 931.
High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards
this year posted APR scores ranging from 976 to a perfect
1,000, said NCAA President Myles Brand.
"The vast majority of sports teams are performing very
well academically and exceeding the 925 threshold for their
APR scores," Brand said. "Nearly 800 of these teams are
worthy of special attention, and I commend them for their
excellence in academics and athletics."
The 767 teams publicly recognized this year for high achievement
represent 11.9 percent of the approximately 6,484 Division
I teams. The list includes 448 women's teams and 319 men's
or mixed squads. A total of 205 institutions, out of 331
Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one
team on the top APR list.
To receive a public recognition award, teams's APR scores
must be in the top 10 perecent of all teams in a
particular sport in the nation, Reifel said.
Last year, a total of 712 teams were recognized. The number
of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending
on how many achieved perfect 1,000 APR scores.
Multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams,
including the teams receiving public recognition awards,
will be announced May 6. The announcement also will include
immediate and historical penalties for low-performing teams.
The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores
from the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic
years. — Ron Podell contributed to this report.
