Sun Devils Best in Pac-12 Average APR For Third Straight Year

Arizona State University recorded a multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) average of 994 over a four-year period (2019-20 to 2022-23), as announced by the NCAA on Tuesday. That number is the best in the Pac-12 for the third year in a row. Since the 2015-16 academic year, ASU has averaged a 990-plus for each multi-year APR cohort that has been released.

"Andrea Lore and her staff have done a great job of making us not only better, but the best," notes Athletic Director Graham Rossini. "The energy, communication and efficiency of the Office of Student-Athlete Development is much appreciated by not only our department, but our student-athletes, their families and anyone that has invested in our programs."

For single year (2022-23) APR scores, 15 of the 23 sports at Arizona State earned a perfect 1000, including 10 of the 13 women's teams. The Sun Devils also had impressive multiyear APR numbers, with nine teams earning a perfect score.

Many Sun Devil squads extended streaks and reached new milestones. Men's swimming and diving and men's cross country earned new all-time highs with a 1000 multiyear APR. There are six teams who continued streaks of perfect multiyear scores. Men's golf currently has the longest streak with ten in a row, followed by women's golf and gymnastics, both with eight in a row. Men's tennis has six-consecutive perfect multiyear scores, beach volleyball right behind them with five and softball is building their streak, this being their fourth time in row with a perfect score.

"This year has been a remarkable period of academic achievement for our student-athletes," notes Andrea Lore, Associate AD for Academic & Student Development. "Not only did our students achieve the best APR score in the Pac 12, they also attained an all-time high 93 percent graduation success rate, and 85 percent of student-athletes finished the spring semester with a 3.0 or higher GPA.  These impressive outcomes reflect their commitment to excellence and speak to the comprehensive support provided by the Office of Student-Athlete Development, Sun Devil Athletics and ASU faculty and staff.  In the changing landscape of college athletics we remain committed to fostering an environment where our student-athletes can excel in the classroom, sport and life."

Within the Pac-12, 11 teams were in first place for their APR multiyear averages: men's cross country, men's golf, men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, wrestling,  women's golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, softball, beach volleyball and volleyball.

Ten Sun Devil teams – men's basketball, men's cross country, men's golf, men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, softball, women's golf, gymnastics, beach volleyball and volleyball – earned a place in the top-10 percent as announced last week, all recording a perfect 1000. 

"As a former diving student-athlete who graduated in 2002, watching the our APR score increase over the last 20 years has been exciting," notes Natalie Thackrah, Sun Devil Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services & Data. "When I came back to ASU and started working in the Office of Student-Athlete Development in 2008, I understood early on that increasing our APR score was top priority. The Office of Student-Athlete Development works extremely hard on a daily basis to help our student-athletes succeed in the classroom and in life.  It is no surprise that we exit the Pac-12 Conference atop the APR standings due to the hard work that our staff and student-athletes have done to increase these numbers."

Since the APR measurement was implemented in 2003, ASU's average for all sports has increased from its first multiyear score of 937 to its current mark of 994.

APR tracks the academic progress of each student-athlete, including eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation, and provides a clear picture of the current academic culture for each sport as well as department-wide. In 2014, the NCAA Board of Directors implemented a cut score of 930, below which teams will be penalized with loss of postseason competition.

The national multiyear APR score for all NCAA Division I programs is 984. The full NCAA release can be found here.

SUN DEVIL MULTIYEAR APR BY YEAR (AVERAGE ALL SPORTS BY YEAR)
2022-23: 994
2021-22: 995
2020-21: 995
2019-20: 994
2018-19: 993
2017-18: 991
2016-17: 992
2015-16: 991
2014-15: 985
2013-14: 986
2012-13: 982
2011-12: 980
2010-11: 976
2009-10: 974
2008-09: 974
2007-08: 968
2006-07: 961
2005-06: 955
2004-05: 947
2003-04: 937