Redbird Golf Teams Honored With NCAA Public Recognition Award

INDIANAPOLIS - The Illinois State men's and women's golf programs earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for achievement in the latest multiyear Academic Progress Rates (APR), as announced Wednesday by the NCAA.

With perfect multi-year APR scores of 1,000 each, the Redbird golf squads ranked in the top-10 percent of their respective sports. The men's golf team, led by head coach Ray Kralis, earned the same recognition in the 2009-10 and 2011-12 reports. The women's golf team, led by head coach Darby Sligh, was previously recognized in the 2004-05 list .

"With these latest APR scores, we see once again that our student-athletes and coaches understand that academic success is at the forefront of our priorities here," Harris said. "We applaud all of the academic success of our student-athletes across all of our teams."

APRs for all Division I teams will be released May 14. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason, and they also can face penalties for continued low academic performance. 

"Each year, more and more teams are achieving perfect APR scores," NCAA president Mark Emmert said. "We are proud of our member schools' commitment to providing tremendous opportunities for student-athletes so they can succeed on the field, in the classroom, and in life."
The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-2012 and 2012-13 academic years.

The 1,049 teams publicly recognized for high achievement represent 631 women's teams and 418 men's or mixed squads. In 2013, 976 teams were recognized. A total of 275 Division I schools (and seven in other divisions who have a sport competing in Division I) placed at least one team on the top APR list, up 19 from last year.

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