National Collegiate Athletic Association

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For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Contact(s)

Erik Christianson
Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117

INDIANAPOLIS—More than 800 Division I sports teams are being recognized this year for their exceptional work in the classroom as part of the NCAA’s academic performance program.

Based on their most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rates, 841 teams have earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards. These awards are given each year to teams scoring in the top 10 percent in each sport with their APRs. 

Full APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including penalties for low-performing teams, will be released later this spring.

High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards this year posted APR scores ranging from 978 to a perfect 1,000, said NCAA Interim President Jim Isch. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on how many achieved perfect scores.

As APR scores improve, the threshold for teams to earn a place in the top 10 percent in their sport continues to rise.

“Most Division I student-athletes and teams take seriously their dual responsibilities in the classroom and on the court or field of play, but every year there is a special category of teams that perform exceptionally well and deserve this noteworthy recognition,” Isch said. 

Two national champions are included in this year’s list of award winners: the 2009 Division I Football Championship winner (Villanova University) and the 2009 Women’s Bowling Champion (Fairleigh Dickinson University, Metropolitan Campus).

The APR provides a real-time view of a team’s academic success by tracking the progress of each student-athlete during the school year. By measuring eligibility and retention each semester or quarter, the APR provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.

An APR score of 925 is the minimum level of academic success; teams scoring below 925 can lose scholarships and face other sanctions over time, including bans on postseason play. 

The 841 teams publicly recognized this year for high achievement represent 13.4 percent of the 6,297 eligible Division I teams. The list includes 492 women’s teams and 349 men’s or mixed squads.

A total of 228 institutions, out of 331 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list. Another six schools that offer athletics in more than one division, out of 50 overall within the NCAA, placed Division I teams on the list as well.

For the fifth consecutive year, Yale University had the most teams (24) recognized, followed by Dartmouth College (22) and the University of Pennsylvania (20). By conference, the Ivy Group had the most number of teams honored (135), followed by the Patriot League (90) and the Big East Conference (70).

Last year, a total of 767 teams were recognized.

In the five years of the NCAA’s academic reform program, 1,747 different teams have received Public Recognition Awards, representing 27.7 percent of eligible sports teams during that time.  Of that total, 319 teams have received Public Recognition Awards each of the five years of the program.

The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years.

The public recognition awards by sport and institution can be found below in the Related Links section.