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Academic excellence in Division I honored by NCAA

More than 950 NCAA Division I sports teams were honored by the NCAA for earning Public Recognition Awards, based on their most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rate. These awards are given each year to teams with APRs in the top 10 percent in each sport.

Full APRs for all teams, including access to postseason play and penalties for low-performing teams, will be released June 20.

The 954 teams publicly recognized this year for high achievement represent 560 women’s teams and 394 men’s or mixed squads.

Top performing APRs this year ranged from 978 to a perfect 1,000, with the majority of teams earning a perfect APR. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on the number of perfect scores.

“These teams prove that it is possible to not only balance academic and athletic commitment, as most student-athletes do; but to exceed standards and post outstanding academic scores,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. “The drive and determination shown in the classroom and on the field by these men and women represent what it means to be an NCAA student-athlete.”

Five national champions from the 2010-11 season are included in this year’s award list: University of Notre Dame women’s soccer; University of California, Los Angeles women’s golf; Brown University women’s rowing; Arizona State University softball; and The Ohio State University men’s volleyball.

A total of 263 schools, out of 347 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list. Additionally, 8 schools that offer athletics in more than one division, out of 49 overall within the NCAA, placed Division I teams on the list.

Dartmouth College had the most teams (23) recognized, followed by Brown University (20) and Harvard University (18).

In 2011, 909 teams were recognized.

In seven years of the NCAA’s academic reform program, 2,946 different teams have received Public Recognition Awards, representing 46 percent of eligible teams during that time. Of that total, 209 teams have received Public Recognition Awards each of the seven years of the program.

Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR. The score measures eligibility and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.