Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Athletics Ranks Sixth Nationally with 16 NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards
5/17/2011 8:00:00 AM | General
May 17, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The NCAA announced its fifth annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Awards on Tuesday, and for the fifth straight year Bucknell ranks among the national leaders in number of programs honored. A total of 16 Bison varsity athletics teams were cited for having APR scores among the top 10 percent in their respective sports. That figure ranks tied for first in the Patriot League and tied for sixth among all Division I institutions, trailing only Yale (23), Brown (22), Dartmouth (21), Notre Dame (17) and Penn (17). Harvard, Lafayette and Princeton also had 16 programs honored.
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 this year posted APR scores ranging from 977 to a perfect 1,000.
Specific multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving Public Recognition Awards, will be announced on May 24.
Bucknell has earned at least 16 Public Recognition Awards every year so far, with a high of 18 in 2010. Bison programs honored this year are: baseball, men's basketball, men's cross country, 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.
This year a total of 909 Division I programs received Public Recognition Awards, or 14 percent of the 6,385 Division I teams. The list includes 525 women's teams and 384 men's or mixed squads. A total of 239 institutions, out of 335 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list. Another 11 schools that offer athletics in more than one division, out of 52 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 (82) and the Big East Conference (77).
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 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 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 970, and 26 scored 980 or better. Thirteen programs had a cumulative 1,000 score, and all 27 were 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 16 of 20 years, including 12 of the last 13.
