Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Athletics Receives 18 NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards, Fifth-Most in Nation
5/12/2010 8:00:00 AM | General
May 12, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The NCAA unveiled its fourth annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Awards on Wednesday, and for the fourth straight year Bucknell ranks among the national leaders in number of programs honored. A total of 18 Bison varsity athletics teams - a new high-water mark for Bucknell - were cited for having APR scores among the top 10 percent in their respective sports. That figure ranks first in the Patriot League and fifth among all Division I institutions, trailing only Ivy League members Yale (24), Dartmouth (22), Penn (20) and Brown (19).
According to the NCAA, the APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. High-performing teams receiving awards posted APR scores ranging from 978 to a perfect 1,000. As APR scores improve, the threshold for teams to earn a place in the top 10 percent in their sport continues to rise.
Specific multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving Public Recognition Awards, will be announced later this spring.
In each of the first three years of the Public Recognition Awards program, 17 Bucknell varsity athletics programs were cited. This year, the Bison surpassed that mark with 18 honored squads: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, wrestling, women's rowing, field hockey, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, women's indoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field, men's water polo and volleyball.
Among other Patriot League institutions, Holy Cross and Lafayette each had 16 programs cited, Colgate had 14, Lehigh 13, Navy nine, American three and Army one.
This year a total of 841 Division I programs received Public Recognition Awards, or 13.4 percent of the 6,297 Division I teams. The list includes 492 women's teams and 349 men's or mixed squads. A total of 228 institutions, out of 331 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list. Another six schools that offer athletics in more than one division, out of 50 overall that do so within the NCAA, placed Division I teams on the list as well.
By conference, the Ivy Group had the most number of teams honored (135), followed by the Patriot League (90) and the Big East Conference (70).
This recognition represents a continuation of widespread national acknowledgement of Bucknell's scholar-athlete success. Bucknell annually ranks among the national leaders in graduation rates, and the Bison rank fifth nationally in total number of Academic All-Americans.
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 upcoming APR report will represent a four-year average based on institutional reporting for the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years. Teams that do not meet a baseline score of 925 could face sanctions such as loss of scholarships.
In last year's APR report, every Bison program received a score of at least 966, and 22 scored 980 or better. Twelve programs still have a cumulative 1,000 score, and all 27 are above the national average.
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 15 of 19 years, including 11 of the last 12.
