INDIANAPOLIS — UTSA Athletics has recorded several impressive Academic Progress Rate (APR) figures with Tuesday’s public release of the latest NCAA Division I data.
UTSA boasts eight teams that registered a perfect 1,000 APR for the 2023-24 academic year, while the sports of men’s golf and women’s tennis each have logged a perfect 1,000 multiyear APR. Overall, UTSA reported a 980 APR for the department.
This marks the third consecutive year that women’s tennis has recorded a perfect 1,000 multiyear APR, while men’s golf is on that list for the second straight year.
The sports of men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s golf, soccer, women’s tennis, men’s track & field volleyball all logged a perfect 1,000 APR for the 2023-24 year. That number combined with nine teams that earned a perfect APR for the previous academic year and eight with a 1,000 APR for 2022-23 gives UTSA 25 single-year rates of 1,000 over the past three years.
Women's tennis recorded a perfect single-year APR for the sixth consecutive year, while women's basketball, men's golf, women's golf and soccer all posted a 1,000 for the third straight reporting period.
In addition to the perfect multiyear APRs posted by men’s golf and women’s tennis, 11 other sport programs turned in a multiyear rate of 970 or above. Those sports are baseball (979), women’s basketball (992), men’s cross country (978), women’s cross country (988), women’s golf (991), soccer (997), softball (977), men’s tennis (982), men’s track & field (981), women’s track & field (971) and volleyball (984). Thirteen is an increase from the 2022-23 report that saw 11 programs record an APR of at least 970.
Additionally, the American Athletic Conference announced on Tuesday that all 15 of its member institutions have earned academic-based revenue distributions from the NCAA as a result of the 2023-24 academic achievement of their respective student-athletes. Of the 199 sport programs competing in the conference, 45 had a perfect APR score of 1,000 and another 54 had APR scores of 990 or above.
Beginning in Spring 2020, a portion of Division I revenue is distributed to member schools based on the academic achievement of student-athletes. The model allows schools with higher graduation rates and academic success to qualify for more funds.
A school earns an academic unit by meeting any one of the three standards.
- Graduation Success Rate for the most recently available year is equal to or greater than 90 percent based on the single-year rate of all student-athletes at the individual level.
- Difference between student-athlete and student body percentages in the most recently published Federal Graduation Rate is equal to or greater than 13 percentage points.
- Academic Progress Rate for previous year is equal to or greater than 985. The average of single-year scores for all teams is used to determine eligibility for this standard.
Implemented in 2003 as part of an ambitious academic reform effort in Division I, APR holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term. Each academic year, every Division I sports team's APR is calculated using a simple and consistent formula. Scholarship student-athletes can earn one point for staying on course for a degree in their chosen major and one point for being retained (or graduating) at the end of each academic term. For schools that do not offer athletics scholarships, recruited student-athletes are tracked.
The NCAA’s press release on this year’s report can be found here. A full list of APRs for each team can be accessed by using the APR searchable database.
The high marks are not limited to UTSA’s APR figures. Last fall, UTSA reported a department-record Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 90 percent, marking the 10th consecutive year with a GSR of 80 percent or better.
A total of 12 UTSA sports programs logged a GSR of 80 percent or better in the latest report. Men’s golf, women’s tennis and volleyball all posted a perfect GSR of 100 percent, while baseball (92%), men’s basketball (81%), women’s basketball (92%), men’s cross country/track & field (86%), women’s cross country/track & field (92%), football (87%), women’s golf (86%), soccer (96%) and softball (94%) each turned in a GSR above 80 percent.
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