INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- A program best four Saint Mary's College intercollegiate athletic programs earned recognition by the NCAA for academic success, according to information released by the organization today.
The SMC men and women's outdoor track, women's cross country and volleyball programs each maintained a perfect 1,000 multi-year score on the NCAA's most recent Academic Progress Rates (APR) report.
In 2005 and 2006, the first two years of the NCAA's APR recognition program, the Gaels had three teams recognized for perfect scores.
We are extremely proud of the academic and athletic success of our student-athletes," said SMC Director of Athletics Mark Orr. "They truly embody the College's Lasallian traditions and are committed to the institution's ideals of working together to understand and shape society in a positive way."
APRs for all Division I teams will be released May 14. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for postseason competition, and they also can face penalties for continued low academic performance.
The scores required to be in the top ten ranged from 980 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport, with the majority of top 10 teams earning a perfect APR.
Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I APR. This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports. Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport.
The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance.
