Weber State University Athletics
Weber State continues improvements in latest APR report
5/23/2018 3:28:00 PM | Athletics
OGDEN - Weber State University Athletics maintained improvements in the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) report released Wednesday by the NCAA.
All 14 Weber State athletic programs reached the NCAA required minimum score of 930 or better for the 2016-17 academic year and there were no penalties for any Wildcat team.Â
Six of WSU's teams also had a perfect single-year APR score for the 2016-17 academic year. The Weber State women's cross country team, women's soccer team, women's tennis team and women's volleyball team all scored above the national average of 983.Â
The Wildcat women's volleyball team led all WSU squads with a multi-year score of 995. Women's soccer and women's cross country posted a score of 992 with women's tennis at 991 and men's golf next at 983.Â
Weber State football had its highest multi-year score in its program's history at 946.Â
"Academics is a major a priority at Weber State and we are proud of the excellent work being done in the classroom by our student-athletes," said Weber State Director of Athletics Jerry Bovee. "We have invested an extensive amount of time and resources to academic success for our student-athletes, and we strive to be at the top of our conference in and out of the classroom."
Over the past year Weber State has graduated 60 current or former student-athletes and 184 student-athletes have earned Big Sky Academic All-Conference honors.
Across the nation, Division I student-athletes continue to succeed in the classroom, confirmed by a 2-point increase in the Academic Progress Rate. The overall four-year rate increased to 983. Four-year rates for baseball, football and women's basketball each increased 2 points to 975, 964 and 982, respectively. Men's basketball players raised their overall, four-year APR by a point, to 967.Â
Every Division I sports team calculates its Academic Progress Rate each academic year. The NCAA reports both single-year rates and four-year rates, on which penalties for poor academic performance are based. Scholarship student-athletes each semester earn one point for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating.
To compete in the 2018-19 postseason, teams must achieve a 930 four-year APR. NCAA members chose the 930 standard because that score predicts, on average, a 50 percent graduation rate for teams at that APR level. Additionally, teams must earn at least a 930 four-year APR to avoid penalties.
Since the Division I membership created the Academic Performance Program 14 years ago, more than 16,000 former athletes earned APR points for their prior teams by returning to college after their eligibility ran out and earning a degree. Of those 16,000, more than half participated in football, baseball or basketball — the highest-profile sports in Division I.Â
