TEMPE, Ariz.—For the second year in a row, Arizona State University’s athletics program is second in the Pac-12 conference for most teams recognized by the NCAA for their high 2014-15 Academic Progress Rate scores. Four teams recorded a perfect APR of 1000 for 2014-15, tied for best in the country in their sport and earned Top-10 percent recognition, the NCAA announced on Wednesday.
Baseball, men’s golf, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball were each recognized as being in the top-10 percent in the country. The Sun Devil women’s tennis team has been recognized in the top-10 percent of the APR in 11 straight years, since the metric’s inception in 2004. Coach Sheila McInerney’s team is the only amongst the Division I Power Five conferences to record perfect scores for the lifetime of the metric.
“Championship Performance in athletics and in the classroom remains at the core of Sun Devil Athletics’ mission,” stated Jean Boyd, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student Athlete Development. “Being second in the conference for most teams recognized in top-10 percent of the NCAA and having four teams at 100 percent in eligibility and retention over a four-year time period speaks to this commitment. The women’s tennis team led by Coach McInerney embodies the Sun Devil Athletics Way – in the NCAA postseason tournament annually and 11 straight years of perfect Academic Progress Rates.”
This marks the third straight year of top-10 recognition for Sun Devil volleyball, and the fifth overall. Baseball has been recognized in the top-10 percentile in each of the last four years, while men’s golf has been recognized in two straight years, and four years overall.
The NCAA will announce the multi-year APRs for all Division I sports on Wednesday, April 20. Last year, ASU recorded its all-time highest APR score of 986. Since the first APR measurements, ASU’s average for all sports has risen from a score of 937.
Each year, the NCAA honors selected NCAA Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate. 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.
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.
The scores required to be in the top 10 ranged from 983 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport. Earning a perfect APR score were 944 teams from 290 schools.