The Northern Arizona University athletics program continues to demonstrate its academic success, according to the NCAA Academic Progress Report released May 24.
All 15 sponsored sports are exceeding NCAA academic standards for the second straight year while the football program measured its fifth consecutive increase.
The APR is a real-time measure of eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team. The measure has been shown to predict later graduation success.
“We are extremely proud of our continued success and finishing above 925 in all of our sports,” said athletics director Jim Fallis. “It is an on-going process and you have to pay close attention.”
NAU recorded multiyear scores above 925 in all 15 of its sponsored sports.
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Teams are required to meet the 925 multiyear APR, which represents a 92.5 percent success in retention and academic eligibility. Points are awarded on a semester basis for retention and academic eligibility with four points available for each student-athlete each year.
The NAU football program increased its APR rating in each of the last five academic years, from 872 to 953, and has the highest multiyear rate in the Big Sky Conference, earning the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association APR Award.
The award is given to the highest APR score in each of the 14 Football Championship Subdivision conferences.
“It is a tribute to our student-athletes and their hard work in the classroom, as well as our department’s academic services and the work of our coaching staff,” said head football coach Jerome Souers. “We strive to be the best in the Big Sky Conference in every area. It is a great recognition for our program.”
The women’s golf program has the highest multiyear APR score at 992, while the women’s soccer and volleyball teams both had a multiyear rate of 984. The women’s basketball program recorded a 981 and women’s swimming and diving team had 979.
Six teams had scores above 970 with 13 programs above 950. Seven programs had perfect 1000 single-year APR rates in 2009-10 including men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis.