June 14, 2012
NCAA Release
Bronx, N.Y. -
Eleven Fordham University athletic teams were among more than 950 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 the third consecutive year that Fordham, which tied for 16th nationally for the most sports recognized, has led the Atlantic 10 in the number of teams honored.
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, Women's Cross Country, Football, Men's Swimming and Diving, Men's Indoor Track and Field, Men's Outdoor Track and Field, Women's Indoor Track and Field, Women's Outdoor Track and Field, and Women's Tennis and Volleyball. Women's Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Women's Tennis have all been honored in each of the seven years the NCAA has released the scores while the Baseball squad wins the award for the sixth time over the seven year period. Men's and Women's Cross Country and Men's Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field teams are recognized for the third time as is the Men's Swimming & Diving program and the Volleyball squad. This is the first year that the NCAA has presented this award for football.
"It is a great achievement for the eleven teams that have been recognized by the NCAA, especially the two programs that have been acknowledged in each of the seven 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. We are extremely proud of these student-athletes, their coaches and these teams for demonstrating their excellence in the classroom."
The NCAA honors are the latest academic accolades bestowed upon Fordham student-athletes. Last month, junior pitcher Jen Mineau was named a Capital One Academic All-American®, the second straight year she has garnered the accolade. Additionally, 38 football players were named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll (the most among all League football schools), 122 student-athletes were named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the fall semester, and 307 student-athletes were honored at the 2012 Breakfast for Champions for compiling a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher. The 307 student-athletes honored represented over 50% of the student-athletes at Fordham and is the second largest number of student-athletes to attend a Breakfast for Champions.
In team awards, the men's and women's soccer teams were both named recipient of the NSCAA Team Academic Award, the men's and women's cross country teams were honored by the USTFCCCA as Division I All-Academic Cross Country Teams and the men's and women's swimming teams received College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All America Team status for the eighth straight year.
In seven years of the NCAA's academic reform program, 2,946 different teams have received Public Recognition Awards, representing 46 percent of eligible teams during that time. Of that total, 209 teams have received Public Recognition Awards each of the seven years of the program.
Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR. The score measures eligibility and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.
A total of 954 teams from 263 schools, out of 347 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list. Additionally, eight schools that offer athletics in more than one division, out of 49 overall within the NCAA, placed Division I teams on the list. The list includes 560 women's teams and 394 men's or mixed squads. The lists of recognized teams are available by a searchable database.
Multiyear APRs for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving public recognition, will be announced June 20. That announcement also will include APP penalties for low-performing teams, teams subject to postseason ineligibility and head coach APRs.
"These teams prove that it is possible to not only balance academic and athletic commitment, as most student-athletes do; but to exceed standards and post outstanding academic scores," said NCAA President Mark Emmert. "The drive and determination shown in the classroom and on the field by these men and women represent what it means to be an NCAA student-athlete."
Ten of the eleven Fordham teams honored compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference (football plays in the Patriot League), placing the Rams first among all conference schools. Dayton, George Washington and Richmond all tied for second in the league with seven teams honored.
The Rams were one of just three Patriot League football teams honored, joining Georgetown and Lafayette.
The eleven total teams recognized ties for the most Fordham teams honored in the seven years of the NCAA program (eleven teams were honored in 2010).
The Atlantic 10 Conference had 56 of its programs earn national recognition from the NCAA in the Academic Progress Rate. The league ranks fourth in number of teams publically recognized by the NCAA, behind only the Ivy League, the Patriot League and the Big East Conference.
The Atlantic 10 also ranked third in the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate, which was released last fall. For the APR recognition, incoming member Butler had 11 teams honored which would increase the A-10 count to 67.
"To have 56 programs honored by the NCAA is a testament to the importance the Atlantic 10 and its member institutions place on academics and the scholastic success our student-athletes have had," stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. "It is critical to us that we continue to be a strong conference academically."
