NCAA Release
Loyola Marymount University reported three athletic programs with perfect multi-year Academic Progress Rates (APR) in 2017-18, and 10 of 18 teams have recorded scores of 990 or better, an improvement from seven teams the year before. Comparing year-to-year, 17 of 22 teams maintained or improved their multi-year scores, according to the annual APR report released by the NCAA earlier this week.
The most recent rates, which include data for the 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 academic years, show every Lion program above the 930 cutline. Women's swimming recorded its ninth-straight 1,000 point score, and men's golf and men's water polo each recorded perfect 1,000 point multi-year APR scores for the second straight season.
In addition to swimming, golf and men's water polo also posted a perfect APR score; earning last week's NCAA Public Recognition Awards for ranking in the Top-10 percent of their sport.
Men's basketball improved its multi-year APR from 945 to 961 over the last year, while women's volleyball moved from 979 to 995. Women's water polo improved from 990 to 997, while women's soccer saw its multi-year APR jump from 981 to 987 and men's soccer also improved by six points from 978 to 984. Women's cross country , women's rowing, and men's track each improved from 989 to 990.
The 2017-18 overall four-year rate held steady at 983, equal to the highest ever recorded from the four-year rate announced last year.
APR scores are determined by eligibility and retention for each student-athlete on scholarship during a particular academic year. Student-athletes are awarded one point for each semester they are enrolled and one point for each semester they are eligible for intercollegiate competition. A student-athlete can earn a maximum of four points during an academic year. Additional points are not given for student-athletes that graduate at the end of the semester, rather the student-athlete is awarded one point for retention and one point for eligibility.
The APR is then calculated by taking the number of possible points for a particular sport for the four years and dividing that number by the total number of points earned from student-athlete retention and eligibility over the same period of time. The percentage is then multiplied by 1,000 to obtain the actual multiyear rate used in the report.
The purpose of the APR, according to the NCAA, is to provide a "real-time snapshot" of each team's academic performance. The NCAA requires teams to maintain a minimum multiyear APR of 930 to avoid contemporaneous penalties that include postseason bans and the possibility of losing grant-in-aid for the period of one year if a student-athlete leaves school while academically ineligible. Institutions will not be allowed to award the grant-in-aid from the ineligible student-athlete to a different student-athlete. The contemporaneous penalties only apply when a team below the 930 cutline does not retain an academically ineligible student-athlete.
For more information on the APR, please visit the NCAA website at NCAA.org.
