INDIANAPOLIS – Illinois State's 17 athletics teams reached a new high Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) score based on the latest data released Tuesday by the NCAA. The score of 985 was achieved by all 17 athletic teams for the 2018-2019 academic year.
A total of 11 teams equaled or exceeded the Division I national average in their respective sports, while seven of those teams earned perfect single-year APR scores (1000) for the 2018-19 year. The 11 Redbird programs that equaled or exceeded the Division I national average in their respective sport were baseball, men's golf, men's tennis, men's track & field, women's swimming and diving, gymnastics, women's golf, softball, women's tennis, soccer and volleyball. The seven teams with single-year perfect 1000 APR scores were men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, softball, gymnastics and volleyball.
"We have aspired to elevate this overall team average APR score in recent years, so seeing this number today is fulfilling," Illinois State Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance and Student Services Cindy Harris said. "This can only happen when all our teams have the same drive to achieve at a higher level. Our student-athletes continue to take their classroom achievements to new heights, and we applaud them along with the myriad of wonderful people on our campus who support them each day."
Other Illinois State highlights from the latest NCAA report included:
• The volleyball team's perfect 1000 multi-year APR ranks them alone at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Softball finished in the top spot in the MVC as well, tying with two other teams who achieved perfect 1000 multi-year rates.
• The baseball team's multi-year rate of 997 ranked them second in the MVC and is 20 points greater than the national average.
• Football's four-year APR of 962 exceeded the FCS national average.
• Seven of 10 MVC women's golf teams programs, including Illinois State, achieved a perfect 1000 multi-year APR.
• Men's track and field's single-year APR score of 984 exceeded the national average by 13 points.
• Men's tennis' single-year APR score of 1000 exceeded the national average by 17 points.
• All of Illinois State's teams achieved an APR score above the NCAA's threshold to avoid penalties.
NCAA President Mark Emmert praised the student-athletes for continuing to achieve at what already was a very high level.
"The sustained academic achievement of Division I student-athletes is nothing short of remarkable. Their hard work in the classroom is just as evident as their efforts on the field," Emmert said. "Their success is something to be celebrated. Faculty, administrators and coaches all are committed to support student-athletes as they work toward earning a degree."
The announcement is the NCAA's latest report of APR for all Division I schools and includes single-year scores for 2018-19 and four-year multi-year scores between the 2015-16 and 2018-19 academic years. The APR tracks eligibility and retention of scholarship student-athletes each semester and annually provides a real-time picture of the performance of each team on these two measures.
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