Searchable NCAA APR Scores
 
Bronx, NY (May 19, 2014) – Seven Fordham University athletic teams were among more than 1,000 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. Of the seven, five notched a perfect 1,000 score, including the men's indoor and outdoor track and field teams.
 
Fordham was recognized as just one of 56 NCAA Division I programs, and one of three current Atlantic 10 schools, that have one or more teams that have been recognized in each of the past nine years.
 
The seven teams honored is the third most of any Atlantic 10 school. Dayton and George Washington each had nine teams recognized, although two of the nine for each school were in non-A-10 sports and don't count towards the league's total of 58. Richmond had eight teams earn the public recognition and Fordham had seven teams.
 
The five Fordham teams with perfect scores ties the Rams with George Washington University for the most among Atlantic 10 institutions. Dayton, Richmond, Saint Joseph's and Saint Louis each had four teams with a score of 1,000.
 
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, Golf, Men's Swimming and Diving, Men's Indoor Track and Field, Men's Outdoor Track and Field, Women's Indoor Track and Field, and Women's Tennis.  Women's Indoor Track and Field and Women's Tennis have both been honored in each of the nine years the NCAA has released the scores while baseball is recognized for the seventh time, the Men's Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field programs are recognized for the fifth time as is the Men's Swimming & Diving program and the golf squad is recognized for the first time.
 
"We are honored to be one of 56 NCAA Division I programs that have had a team honored in each of the nine years the NCAA has been compiling APR scores," said Director of Athletics, David Roach. "It truly is an outstanding accomplishment. These student-athletes have demonstrated that they are as serious about their academic accomplishments as they are of their athletic success and we are extremely proud of them as well as of their coaches and the academic support staff."
 
APRs for all Division I teams will be released May 14. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason, and they also can face penalties for continued low academic performance.
 
The 1,049 teams publicly recognized for high achievement represent 631 women's teams and 418 men's or mixed squads. In 2013, 976 teams were recognized.
 
The scores required to be in the top ten ranged from 980 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport, with the majority of top 10 teams earning a perfect APR.
 
"Each year, more and more teams are achieving perfect APR scores," said NCAA president Mark Emmert. "We are proud of our member schools' commitment to providing tremendous opportunities for student-athletes so they can succeed on the field, in the classroom, and in life."
 
The NCAA honors are the latest academic accolades bestowed upon Fordham student-athletes.  In 2013-2014, two student-athletes Abigail Corning (Women's Basketball), and  Bret Biestek (Football) were all named Capital One Academic All-District with Biestek going on to earn First Team Capital One Academic All-America^® honors. Biestek also was named one of two Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Scholar-Athletes of the Year and will receive a $5,000 scholarship for graduate school. Biestek was also named Academic All-Patriot League for football, along with Stephen Hodge and Dan Light, while Anisa Arsenault (Women's Cross Country), Maria Rodenberg (Volleyball) and Steve Sholdra (Men's Swimming) were all named Academic All-Atlantic 10. Additionally, ten water polo student-athletes (Bobby Wurtz, Sean Sullivan, Nicholas Allen, Dan Kearney, Eric Mullery, R.J. Simmons, Landon Kern, Mike Hay, Patrick Lenihan, and Davis DeFontes) were honored with Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches All-Academic awards and were also named to the Collegiate Water Polo Association Varsity Scholar Athlete Team.
 
In the fall, 22 football student-athletes were named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, 130 student-athletes were named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the fall semester (fourth among the 13 conference schools) and 329 student-athletes were honored at the 2014 Breakfast for Champions for compiling a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher. The 345 student-athletes honored represented 67% of the student-athletes at Fordham.
 
The Atlantic 10 ranked fifth in number of teams recognized among 31 Division I leagues. The league also ranked fifth in the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate, which was released last fall.
 
"Year in and year out, our student-athletes and teams prove their dedication to success in all aspects of their college life, but most especially academics," stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. "Having 58 of our teams recognized for being in the top 10 percent of the NCAA in APR scores for their sport should be commended. All of the credit goes to the student-athletes and athletic departments in the Atlantic 10 that emphasize a commitment to scholastic success."
 
Nearly every Atlantic 10 sport (20 of 21) had at least one team receive public recognition. Women's tennis had the most teams of any sport on the NCAA list with eight. Three sports had five teams recognized (men's golf, men's tennis, and women's cross country). Volleyball and women's indoor and outdoor track and field each had four teams represented.