UA Athletics raises Academic Progress Rate

The University of Arkansas exceeds the benchmark Academic Progress Rate (APR) multi-year rate of 925 in 18 of its 19 intercollegiate sport programs for the fourth-consecutive year, according to a statement from the UA Athletic Department.

Men’s basketball multi-year rate of 894 is below the 925 benchmark. Programs with multi-year rates below the benchmark are subject to penalties, including ineligibility for post-season competition.

The 18 sport programs each exceeded the benchmark by more than 10 points including a perfect 1,000 by gymnastics and men’s tennis. The APR is based on academic eligibility and retention of student-athletes in each athletic program.  This report’s multi-year scores are based on the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years. The APR is in the process of transitioning to a 930 benchmark during the course of the next three years. Eighteen of the 19 Razorback programs already exceed the new targeted benchmark.

Arkansas also posted new bests in multi-year and single year APR program averages. The average multi-year rate for Arkansas’ 19 sports in 2010-11 was 970.3, the highest in program history since APR began in 2003-04. The single-year average of 978.5 also marked a program best.

The University of Arkansas was not assigned penalties for the basketball academic scored by the NCAA due to the team’s demonstrated academic improvement. This year’s rates marked the third-consecutive year of improvement for the men’s basketball program in both multi- and single-year APR rates. The program is still recovering from a debilitating single year rate of 755 in 2007-08. This is the final year that will include the 2007-08 rate in the multi-year rate calculations. With the program’s significant progress since, the multi-year rate announced for 2011-12 should be significantly improved.

“I am proud of the continued academic progress we are making in exceeding APR benchmarks and setting record multi-year and single-year rates for our program,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said in the statement. “The vast majority of our programs are already exceeding both the current and the future benchmark target scores. We will work toward further improvement and continue to focus our efforts on helping Razorback student-athletes on the path to graduation. I appreciate the hard work of our student-athletes, coaches and staff in helping us accomplish our goal of developing student-athletes to their fullest potential through intercollegiate athletics.”

The Razorbacks have 17 programs with a multi-year rate of 949 or above including gymnastics and men’s tennis who were recognized with an NCAA Public Recognition Award last week for finishing in the top 10% of their respective sports in multi-year APR rate. Other top scoring programs included swimming and diving at 997, men’s golf at 994, women’s golf at 993 and women’s cross country at 986.

Women’s tennis made the largest multi-year improvement moving up 35 points in the latest report. Men’s golf improved its rate by 26 points, while men’s tennis and volleyball each made improvements of 16 points. Other teams that improved their multi-year rate include baseball, men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s indoor track and field, swimming, women’s indoor track and field and women’s outdoor track and field.