University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Continue to Excel in NCAA's APR Awards
5/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The NCAA announced today that 11 University of 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 of each sport based on their most recent multi-year APR.
Overall, the University of Minnesota is among one of the top FBS institutions with the highest percentage of teams earning APR Awards. This ranked behind only Stanford (17), Notre Dame (14), Boston College (12) and Duke (12). Minnesota tied for first in the Big Ten with Michigan. The Gophers and Wolverines also rank as the highest public institutions, which marks the fourth-straight year for Minnesota.
Baseball, football, men's cross country, men's golf, men's hockey, men's tennis, women's golf, women's soccer, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis and women's track ranked in the top 10 of their sport. Since the APR Public Recognition Awards began in 2004-05, it marks the seventh-straight year for men's tennis, sixth-straight for baseball and soccer, fifth-straight for women's tennis, fourth-straight for women's golf and women's swimming and diving and second for football, men's cross country, men's golf, men's hockey and women's track.
"As the athletics director, I don't know if there's anything I share with Gopher fans that gives me more pride in our students and our staff than our streak, now four straight years, as the nation's top-ranked public institution with respect to the APR and its Honors awards," said Athletics Director Mark Coyle. "Our department is committed to academic excellence and today's announcement is further proof of that commitment. It's inspiring to see students from so many different Gopher teams continue to achieve at such a high level academically."
"I am continually impressed by our student-athletes and coaches dedication to success not only on the playing field, but in the classroom as well," director of McNamara Academic Center J.T. Bruett said. "The commitment to academic excellence from the University, athletic administration, coaches and student-athletes is to be commended as we continue to cultivate great students and athletes."
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 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years.
Multiyear APRs for all Division I teams, including the teams receiving public recognition, will be announced May 10.
