University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Excel In the Latest APR Awards
4/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The NCAA announced today that 14 Minnesota Golden Gopher programs have been honored with Academic Progress Rates (APR) Public Recognition Awards. The awards are given each year to collegiate programs scoring in the top 10 percent in each sport based on their most recent multi-year APR. The 14 Gopher honors tie last year's awards, which was an improvement from 12 in 2012-13.
Overall, the University of Minnesota improved from fifth to fourth among FBS institutions with the highest percentage of teams earning APR Awards. This ranked behind only Stanford (17), Notre Dame (16) and Duke (15). Minnesota ranked first in the Big Ten with 14, while Northwestern followed closely with 12. The University of Minnesota was the highest among public institutions for the third-straight year.
Baseball, football, men's cross country, men's golf, men's gymnastics, men's hockey, men's tennis, softball, women's cross country, women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's swimming & diving, women's track and volleyball all scored in the top 10 percent in their respective sports. Since the APR Public Recognition Awards were announced in 2004-05, it marks the first time football, men's golf and men's hockey has been named in the top 10 percent.
"Our student-athletes, coaches and staff strive for academic excellence and this recent APR announcement is a testament to their efforts," interim athletics director Beth Goetz said. "Having 14 of our programs recognized by the NCAA exemplifies the hard work that goes on in the classroom at the University of Minnesota. Our academic staff and student-athletes are truly committed and the results continue to show it."
"I'd like to commend the hard work by our student-athletes and coaching staffs as they continue to prove the importance of academics here at the University of Minnesota," director of McNamara Academic Center J.T. Bruett said. "We look to continue this tradition of cultivating great students, both on and off the playing field."
Each year, the NCAA honors selected NCAA Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate. This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports. Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport. This year's release will again include recognition in the sport of football by subdivision (i.e., Football Bowl Subdivision and NCAA Football Championship Subdivision).
The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance. The most recent APR scores are based on a multi-year rate that averages scores from the 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-015 academic years.
Multiyear APRs for all Division I teams, including the teams receiving public recognition, will be announced April 20.
