All 17 of the University of Nevada’s
athletics teams have turned in multi-year Academic Progress Rates (APR)
at or above the 925 standard, according to the data released by the
NCAA on Wednesday. The NCAA released its fifth annual Academic Progress
Rates report for all Division I institutions today. This year’s report
includes information for the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08
academic years.
“We are very excited that our APR numbers and graduation rates
continue to improve, and it is a tribute to the dedication of our
student-athletes, coaches and staff as well as all of the professors
and staff on the University of Nevada campus,” Nevada Director of
Athletics Cary Groth said. “We want our student-athletes to have a
great experience in every way during their college careers and are
committed to providing them with the academic support they need to
reach their academic goals and ultimately leave the University of
Nevada with their degrees.”
This marks the fifth consecutive year of penalty-free academic
performance for the Wolf Pack, while Nevada is the only school in the
Western Athletic Conference to have all of its teams above the 925
standard in the latest report.
Two WAC teams received Public Recognition awards from the NCAA: Boise State's men's tennis with a multi-year score of 1000 and Hawai?i's women's volleyball with a score of 996. Of a total of 134 teams at WAC schools, 13.4 percent were under the 925 standard over the four years. For the 2007-08 season, just 8.2 percent (11 teams) were under 925 with only San Jose State recording scores of over 925 for all 16 of its sports.
The APR is a real-time “snapshot” of a team’s academic success and
is used by the NCAA and universities to measure current academic
success by looking at the academic progress of each current
student-athlete. It includes eligibility, retention, and graduation as
factors in the rate calculation. Each student-athlete can add two
points to the team’s overall score per semester, including one for
academic eligibility and one for returning to school the next semester.
The 925 threshold set by the NCAA equals roughly a 60 percent
Graduation Success Rate. Teams that score below 925 and have a
student-athlete who failed academically and left school can lose
scholarships. Teams can lose up to 10 percent of their scholarships
each year for poor academic performance under the immediate penalty
structure and also face a historical penalty structure.