MSU Shows Overall Improvement In APR Numbers
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? All of Mississippi State’s 16 varsity sports surpassed the minimum Academic Progress Rate for the 2007-08 school year, and all but one has exceeded the 925 ratio for the four-year period, according to the recently released APR study by the NCAA.
The report is derived from the NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate data submitted by Mississippi State for the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08 academic years. Four years of data are compiled to calculate a team’s multi-year APR.
The APR is based upon each student-athlete’s opportunity to earn two points during each regular academic term, one if the student-athlete is academically eligible and another if the student-athlete returns to the institution for the following academic term. Each individual sport’s APR number is derived by dividing the number of points earned by the number of points possible. A score below 900 could bring historical penalties, which could include playing or practice time restrictions and/or post-season bans. Contemporaneous penalties, which could include loss of scholarships, could be assessed for scores under 925.
Women’s golf (992) and women’s cross country (991) posted the department’s highest APR scores during the four-year period. Men’s golf (989) totaled the best ratio on the men’s side. All three of those sports matched or exceeded their ’08 scores.
Softball (988), basketball (977), track and field (972), soccer (968), tennis (967) and volleyball (927) all finished above the 925 threshold that averts contemporaneous penalties. All women’s sports reached their ’08 numbers, except volleyball (929).
Baseball (973), cross country (963), track and field (959), tennis (942), and football (933) all exceeded the 925 mark. While men's basketball (913) posted an APR jump from a year ago (901), no contemporaneous penalties were assessed because no student-athlete in the four-year cohort triggered the criteria for sanctions. All men’s sports, with the exception of cross country (967) and tennis (947), surpassed last year’s reported scores.