Message from Ray Anderson

Sun Devil Nation,
 
As we head into Memorial Day weekend, I can't help but reflect on the past several weeks and beam with pride. Despite not being able to complete our spring athletic competitions, we still have a lot to commemorate. We all love the thrill of our athletic victories, however the academic success, culminating in the graduation of our student-athletes is a top priority and something in which our entire staff takes tremendous pride.  
 
Last week, we celebrated graduation for 117 student-athletes who earned degrees during the 2019-20 academic year. The list of graduates includes 21 from the fall semester, 78 spring graduates and 18 who will earn their degree at the completion of summer school. Additionally, 10 former student-athletes returned to complete their degrees. Those #SunDevils4Life include ASU men's basketball stars Eddie House and Byron Scott, the first Sun Devil to play in the NHL, Joey Daccord, former MLB outfielder Travis Buck and 2018 MLB 5th-round draft pick Gage Canning, to name a few. You can view the entire list of graduates here.
 
The NCAA also released the 2018-19 Academic Progress Rate (APR) results last week encompassing the years of 2015-16 through 2018-19.  ASU's multi-year APR score of 993 or 99.3% is an all-time high for ASU and places us 2nd in the Pac-12 conference. The APR is one of our most critical metrics and measures the academic health of our program through a percentage of total athletes who are eligible for competition and retained in the program.
 
Additionally a total of 12 Sun Devil teams finished in the top-10 percent (2nd most in the Pac-12), an all-time high for total teams earning that distinction in Arizona State history, beating out the previous record of eight. You can read more about this tremendous accomplishment here.
 
I can't say enough about the terrific job our Office of Student-Athlete Development, led by Andrea Lore, has done to help our student-athletes thrive. As soon as classes transitioned to online, the OSAD team quickly developed a plan to provide the 600-plus student-athletes with the support and guidance they would need to rally through the final two months of the academic calendar successfully. I highly recommend reading this in-depth story on the entire process. 
 
Without loyal supporters like you, we wouldn't be able to offer such an elite student-athlete experience and provide opportunities for so many to receive an education while also chasing their athletic dreams. We can't thank you enough for your ongoing support and we hope you and your family safely enjoy the holiday weekend. 
 
Go Devils!