May 12, 2010
Bronx, N.Y. -
Eleven Fordham University athletic teams were among more than 800 Division I squads to be publicly recognized by the NCAA for their latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, posting multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. This is an increase from six teams that were honored in each of the past two years.
The public recognition awards are part of the broad 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. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.
Being honored for the Rams are Baseball, Men's Cross Country, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Men's Swimming, Men's Indoor Track and Field, Men's Outdoor Track and Field, Women's Indoor Track, Women's Outdoor Track, Men's Tennis and Women's Tennis. Baseball, Men's Tennis, Women's Indoor Track and Women's Outdoor Track have all been honored in each of the four years the NCAA has released scores, while women's tennis is recognized for the third time and women's soccer the second.
"It is a great achievement for the eleven teams that have been recognized by the NCAA, especially the four programs that have been acknowledged in each of the past four years," said Executive Director of Athletics, Frank McLaughlin. "The individuals from these teams are great examples of how Fordham student-athletes successfully balance their academic and athletic pursuits and we are extremely proud of these teams for their excellence."
The NCAA honors are the latest academic accolades bestowed upon Fordham student-athletes. Last week, three softball players (Erin Fisher, Jen Mineau and Beckah Wiggins) were named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and have been placed on
the national ballot for Academic All-America® honors. Furthermore, Mineau was named the Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year for softball as well as Academic All-Atlantic 10, becoming the tenth Rams to earn Academic All-Conference honors in 2009-10. Additionally, five members of the water polo squad were named to the ACWPC All-Academic Team and in January, 275 student-athletes were honored at the 2010 Breakfast for Champions for compiling a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher. The 275 student-athletes honored represented over 50% of the student-athletes at Fordham and is the largest number of student-athletes to attend a Breakfast for Champions
Based on their most recent multiyear Academic Progress Rates, 841 teams have earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards, up from 767 teams last year. The awards are given annually to teams scoring in the top 10 percent in each sport with their APRs. The lists of recognized teams are available by sport, by institution and through a searchable database .
Full APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including penalties for low-performing teams, will be released later this spring.
High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards this year posted APR scores ranging from 978 to a perfect 1,000. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on how many achieved perfect scores. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years.
As APR scores improve, the threshold for teams to earn a place in the top 10 percent in their sport continues to rise.
"Most Division I student-athletes and teams take seriously their dual responsibilities in the classroom and on the court or field of play, but every year there is a special category of teams that perform exceptionally well and deserve this noteworthy recognition," NCAA Interim President Jim Isch said.
The eleven teams honored rank the Rams first among all Atlantic 10 schools and are the most Fordham teams honored in the four years of the program. Saint Joseph's and Xavier tied for second in the conference with seven teams recognized while George Washington had six teams honored.
Nationally, the Ivy Group (94) had the most number of teams honored in the 21 sports sponsored by the Atlantic 10, followed by the Patriot League (77), the Big East (62) and the Atlantic 10 (59).
"I congratulate all of our members for their athletic success with academic excellence in the classroom," says commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade.
"This represents the values and mission statement of the Atlantic 10 Conference."
The Atlantic 10 has fifty of the 767 Division I sports teams being honored with public recognition awards by the NCAA for their latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate scores. This represents an increase of 16 A-10 teams from a year ago.
Among the 21 sports sponsored by the Atlantic 10, women's indoor track & field and women's tennis both had a league-high six teams honored, while at least one team was cited in each of the nine men's sports sponsored by the Conference. Twelve A-10 schools had multiple teams garner distinction and 13 institutions had at least one program recognized.
Nationally, the teams recognized this year for high achievement represent 11.9 percent of the approximately 6,484 Division I teams. The list includes 448 women's teams and 319 men's or mixed squads. A total of 205 institutions, out of 331 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list.
Last year, a total of 712 teams were recognized. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on how many achieved perfect 1,000 APR scores.
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.
APR scores per institution, along with penalties per school and teams receiving public recognition, are available online at ncaa.org .
