The Northern Arizona University athletics program continues to demonstrate its academic success, according to an NCAA Academic Progress Report released today.
All 15 sponsored sports are exceeding NCAA academic standards for the third straight year.
“The APR numbers have been consistently good for the department,” said Lisa Campos, vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics. “It is a great gauge on the job done by our coaches and staff starting with the recruitment process all the way through graduation.”
APR is a measure of eligibility, retention and graduation of student athletics competing on every Division 1 sports team. The measure has been shown to predict later graduation success.
Under its revised structure, the NCAA has set a cut score of 900 (out of 1,000) as a threshold for teams to meet or face possible sanctions. That cut score will increase to 930 in a few years. An APR of 930 projects a 50 percent Graduation Success Rate.
Seven Lumberjack teams had multiyear scores above 970 with 12 programs above 950. Two programs had perfect 1000 single-year APR rates in 2010-11, including women’s cross country and women’s tennis.
The NAU football program, which won the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association APR award last season, ranked second in the Big Sky at 949 behind Sacramento State.
Head Coach Andre Luciano’s soccer program had the highest multiyear rate in the league at 985 among the soccer programs, while the women’s tennis (992) and women’s basketball (981) teams were both second in the conference. The men’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams both were third among their peers in the league.
The women’s tennis program has the highest multiyear APR score at 992, while the women’s soccer teams had a multiyear rate of 985. The women’s basketball program recorded a 981 with volleyball at 979 and women’s swimming and diving team at 976.
The multiyear APR score is based on a four-year rolling average registering overall athlete eligibility and retention during the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years. This year marks the eighth year of APR data.