Contributed
(June 10, 2010)

INDIANAPOLIS - The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released its annual Academic Progress Report (APR) Wednesday, and Troy University had all 16 of their teams recognized by the NCAA for recording a rate of 925 for the year.

The Trojans were one of only two NCAA Division I-A institution in the state of Alabama to have all of their athletic programs to achieve the status of having all of their programs over 925 in the multi-year APR, joining the University of Alabama.

Every Division I sports team calculates its APR each academic year, based on the eligibility, retention and graduation of each scholarship student-athlete. An APR of 925 projects to an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of approximately 60 percent.

Teams that score below 925 and have a student leave school academically ineligible can lose up to 10 percent of their scholarships. Known as immediate penalties, these scholarships can be lost each year and not awarded until the following year. Teams can also be subject to historical penalties for poor academic performance over time.

The Public Recognition Awards are part of the broad NCAA Division I academic reform effort. The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. This year’s APR is based on enrollment throughout the 2005-06 through 2008-09 academic years. The APR includes eligibility, retention and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. It awards two points each term to student-athletes who meet academic eligibility standards and who remain with the institution.

A team’s APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible. The NCAA "commends" teams that have APR scores in the top 10 percent within their sport. The minimum score necessary for a Public Recognition Award ranges from 975 to 1000 (perfect), depending on the range of team scores nationwide within that sport.

Ten sports made significant improvements from the 2007-08 year to the 2008-09 academic year.  Men’s cross country making the biggest improvement (1000), while nine other sports for the Trojans were able to record perfect scores for the 2008-09 year.  Those sports included men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s golf, men’s tennis, men’s track and field, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s indoor track and field, and women’s outdoor track and field.

For a complete listing of the schools in the NCAA involved in the Division I-A APR, click here. For a listing of Troy University’s APR, click here.