Mississippi State Athletics Continues To Excel In NCAA APR
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Each of Mississippi State's 16 varsity sports surpassed both the minimum Academic Progress Rate for the 2008-09 school year and the 925 ratio for the four-year period, according to the APR study released today by the NCAA.
The report is derived from the NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate data submitted by Mississippi State for the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years. Four years of data are compiled to calculate a team's multi-year APR.
"Our APR scores confirm the commitment Mississippi State places on developing our student-athletes both in the classroom and on the court or field of play," director of athletics Scott Stricklin said. "I congratulate our coaches, academic support staff and compliance departments for their emphasis on educating our student athletes."
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.
Over the four-year period, softball (997), women's tennis (992), women's golf (984) and men's golf (983) recorded the athletic department's highest APR scores. Baseball (976), men's cross country (972), men's track (952), women's basketball (981), women's cross country (969), women's soccer (976), women's indoor (957) and outdoor (957) track and volleyball (954) each exceeded the 950 mark, well clear of the 925 threshold.
Men's basketball (932), football (939) and men's tennis (944) all improved their scores from a year ago.
During the 2008-09 academic year, men's and women's tennis, softball and volleyball each posted a perfect 1,000, and football (954) and men's basketball (979) each set their four-year high.