Cincinnati Bearcats Set School Record in NCAA APR

The NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores for each Division I NCAA institution were released today. Fans should be proud of their Bearcats student-athletes as they posted a school record 979 over the four-year reporting period (ending in 2013-14 academic year).

UC posted a school record 979 in the @NCAA APR announced today! Clearly the #Bearcats are #CincinnatiSmart! More: http://t.co/kVR7nz863A

— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) May 27, 2015

Long story short, the APR has been in place as a way for the NCAA to better grade and assess the academic side of collegiate athletics using academic performance, eligibility, retention and graduation benchmarks. If teams fail to meet the minimum requirements on their APR scores (930), schools can be punished and withheld from competing in championships.

Here is an overview of APR and here is a more detailed layout of how it is calculated.

"The APR, or Academic Progress Rate, holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term." - NCAA.org

The 979 score is the highest ever for University of Cincinnati athletics. According to GoBearcats.com, the men's swimming, men's outdoor track, women's tennis and women's golf teams each earned perfect scores (1,000) over the four-year period. Lacrosse, women's swimming, women's indoor track and women's outdoor track all earned 990 with 13 of 19 sports recording scores of at least 970.

Now, some believe that the APR is a somewhat flawed system as it is reported over four years and can place blame on those who may not have contributed to poor score in the first place. Nonetheless, Bearcats fans can take some time to celebrate Cincinnati athletics in the classroom, in what should definitely be considered an achievement.

Plus, setting a school record is always nice, right?