UConn again meets NCAA's academic standards

The University of Connecticut meets the standards in all 24 of its sports programs in the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) report, released May 6.

The report is based upon a compilation of data from the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08 academic years. The APR is intended as a four-year rate of measure, aggregating four years of data to produce one rate.

This year marks the second time that the release of figures included a full four-year sample. UConn continues to meet the APR standard in all of its 24 sports.

“Our student-athletes and coaches have once again demonstrated their commitment to our academic mission at UConn,” says Jeffrey Hathaway, director of athletics, noting that this year’s Academic Progress Rate scores at UConn are the best since the program’s inception.

Hathaway congratulated the student-athletes for their hard work, and the Counseling Program for Intercollegiate Athletes, headed by Bruce Cohen, for its role in the academic counseling and support of student-athletes.

Three UConn teams were singled out nationally by the NCAA with a “Public Recognition Award:” the men’s golf and women’s tennis team, each of which scored a perfect 1,000 in the APR, and the 2009 NCAA Championship women’s basketball team, which posted a score of 991. These awards are given to teams scoring in the top 10 percent of the APR in their sport.

Three other UConn programs reached a nearly perfect score on the report: women’s lacrosse scored 994, women’s soccer 992, and field hockey 991.

The football team had an APR score of 951, placing it above the national average for Football Bowl Subdivision schools (941) and all public institutions (931). The men’s basketball score of 939 was ahead of the national average for all Division I schools (933) and public institutions (924).