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The NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores for each Division I NCAA institution were released Wednesday. The takeaway? Cincinnati's student-athletes are doing very well in the classroom. The four-year rate for the athletics department as a whole is 983 (1,000 is a perfect score). The most recent reporting year is 2014-15 where Cincinnati scored a 987.
Implemented in 2003, the APR is essentially 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.
Last year, Cincinnati had an APR score of 979 for the four-year reporting period, which was then a school-record, before this year's scores were released.
According to GoBearcats.com, men's soccer, men's track and women's tennis have been recognized for recording an APR among the top 10 percent of their respective sport, with 10 of 17 teams scoring a perfect 1,000 rate during the 2014-15 reporting period.
10% in APR for @GoBearcatsMSOC, @GoBearcatsTFXC and @GoBearcatsWTEN. #Bearcats getting in done in the classroom // https://t.co/IrsFu6WiIn
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) April 19, 2016
Men's baseball, cross-country, golf, soccer, and track and field earned perfect scores of 1,000 for the most recent reporting period (2014-15). The track team has a four-year rate of 1,000.
Meanwhile, women's basketball, cross country, tennis, volleyball, and track and field all earned perfect scores for 2014-15 with tennis producing a perfect four-year rate.
The results mean that Cincinnati's teams are in the clear from NCAA penalties related to the APR scores. It also means that Cincinnati athletics continue to string together successful years of academic success, which is always a positive thing.