Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Athletics Teams Again Exceed NCAA's Academic Performance Standards
5/6/2009 8:00:00 AM | General
May 6, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The NCAA on Wednesday made public its fifth annual set of Academic Performance Rate (APR) data, representing a recently implemented formula that used to track student-athlete eligibility and retention that could lead to sanctions against institutions not meeting certain minimum standards. And for the fifth year in a row, Bucknell scored very well in the APR report, with each of its 27 programs easily meeting the 925-point cutoff. Scores under 925 could result in certain NCAA-imposed penalties, including loss of scholarships.
Under the APR system, a student-athlete can be awarded two points per semester – one for remaining academically eligible throughout the semester and another for being retained for the next term. Team percentages are then calculated to determine its APR.
The latest APR data represents a four-year average for the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic years. The NCAA evaluates programs based on a four-year rolling average.
Bucknell reported APR data in all 27 varsity programs, and 12 of those teams have perfect 1,000 scores in the four-year average. Those programs are men's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, wrestling, field hockey, women's lacrosse, women's rowing, women's soccer, women's swimming and diving, and women's water polo.
Every Bison program received a score of at least 966, and 22 scored 980 or better, including football (982) and men's (994) and women's (989) basketball. In addition, all 27 Bucknell teams compiled a score above the national Division I average.
Recently, the NCAA issued Public Recognition Awards to 767 Division I teams ranking in the top 10 percent nationally in their respective sport, based on APR scores. Bucknell had 17 teams honored, a figure ranked first in the Patriot League, seventh in the nation and fifth in the nation based on percentage of sports offered by the institution. As a league, the Patriot League had 85 teams earn Public Recognition Awards, second-most among all Division I conferences.
Bucknell annually ranks among the national leaders in graduation rates, and it ranks fifth among all Division I programs in total number of Academic All-Americans with 117.
Bucknell is a highly-selective, privately endowed liberal arts institution with an enrollment of 3,583 undergraduate students. Bucknell competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the Patriot League and has full membership along with American, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy. Bucknell has won the Presidents' Cup, signifying the Patriot League's all-sports champion, in 14 of 18 years, including 10 of the last 11.
