NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State football program was one of 14 schools recognized for its Academic Progress Rate (APR) improvement by the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA). The FCS ADA recognizes one institution from each conference that has improved its APR the most from the previous year, as well as the team with the highest APR score in each league.
"Our Association is pleased to present these awards to spotlight the true mission of all FCS programs, embracing the academic progress of their student-athletes, who will become leaders in their everyday lives outside of the field," said FCS ADA President Marilyn McNeil, vice-president/director of athletics at Monmouth . "We are happy to continue to recognize the FCS institutions and their football programs for continuing to reach or maintain exemplary APR scores."
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Brock Spack, Illinois State was the most improved team in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a multi-year rate APR of 943 following the 2010-11 academic year, falling just short of the program record of 948. However, the team's single-year APR score of 983 from the most recent release is the highest single-year APR score posted by the football program at ISU since the first public release of APR scores, which began with the 2004-05 year.
"Our players, coaching staff and support staff at the Karin L. Bone Academic Study Center have done a great job of placing a strong focus on our program's academic success," Spack said. "When we took over the program three years ago, we wanted to make it clear that academics was a main focus for our team and I think we have made a strong improvement in that area. This year, we had our highest single-year APR in program history, and that is a testament to all of those groups working together to achieve our goals in the classroom."
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member colleges and universities adopted a comprehensive academic reform package designed to improve the academic success and graduation of all student-athletes. The centerpiece of the package is the academic measurement for teams, known as the APR.
The award was received Monday, June 25, by ISU Associate Athletics Director for Compliance and Certification Cindy Harris during the FCS ADA Luncheon sponsored by UPS, which was held in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas.
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