New APR Scores Out; All 16 Teams 925 Or Higher

San Jose, Calif.-----For the first time since the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began tracking academic progress of current student-athletes through its Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, all 16 San Jose State University intercollegiate athletics teams exceeded or achieved the benchmark score of 925 out of 1,000 in an academic year.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.

A score of 925 out of 1,000 projects to a 60 percent graduation rate on an annual basis.

HIGHLIGHTS ACROSS THE BOARD

o    For the 2007-08 academic year, four San Jose State programs baseball, men’s cross country, women’s golf and women’s volleyball achieved the perfect score of 1,000. For baseball and men’s cross country, it was the first time each program achieved the highest score possible. Women’s volleyball scored 1,000 for the second year in a row and women’s golf notched the top score for the fourth time in the five-year history of the APR.

o    Football (952), men’s basketball (980), men’s golf (969) and women’s cross country (983) turned in their highest single-year APR scores since the academic measurement was initiated for all NCAA Division I institutions.

o    As a department, San Jose State’s aggregate APR score was 949, above the 925 threshold and 48 points better than the previous best of 901 in 2006-07.

o    11 of 16 sports had their best multi-year aggregate APR score. A 12th sport matched its best multi-year aggregate APR score of 965.

    “We have turned the corner and our student-athletes have clearly demonstrated their academic plans have them on the correct course whether they are a freshman, transfer student, or in their final semester en route to graduation. Today’s announcement by the NCAA further validates the commitment we made in January 2005 to San Jose State University student-athletes that they can and will achieve academic success,” says Tom Bowen, the Spartans’ director of athletics.

    A 949 annual APR score projects a graduation rate of approximately 70 percent for student-athletes given six years from the start of one's college education to graduate. According to the San Jose State University Office of Institutional Research’s Spring 2008 newsletter, the graduation rates for the University’s overall student population and the California State University system using a six-year clock are 41.4 and 47.8 percent, respectively.

FOOTBALL SCHOLARSHIPS INCREASE FOR 2009-10; PENALTIES ABATED

    Six programs were subject to scholarship reductions and/or limited countable practice hours for the 2008-09 academic year due to a below threshold multi-year score. Each of them, men’s cross country, baseball, men’s basketball, football, men’s soccer and women’s basketball, raised their present multi-year APR score.

The current APR report shows multi-year scores above 900 for men’s basketball, baseball, men’s cross country and women’s basketball. These sports are not subject to any of the NCAA’s historical penalties for 2009-10.

Football, with a 37-point multi-year score increase over the last four reports to a current 888 figure, will be able to increase initial scholarship offerings to 21.0 and maximum allowable total scholarship renewals to 75.0 in 2009-10. Those numbers were 19.0 initials and 72.0 renewals in 2008-09.

    “There is measurable and significant academic progress for each of our sports in question from the last APR report. We are thrilled several sports are no longer subject to penalties. For our football and men’s soccer programs, we submitted an appeal for relief from additional penalties. The NCAA accepted our appeal for both programs and both will be able to compete in regular season and post-season competition,” says Bowen.

    “The NCAA sees the cultural change throughout our entire athletics department and believes in San Jose State, its student-athletes and its academic mission.”

    The San Jose State director of athletics confidently projects more positive APR reports in the immediate future.

“We salute the student-athletes and acknowledge their coaches, staff members and university instructors, lecturers and professors for their roles in this academic achievement. We expect future announcements to include more teams achieving the perfect 1000 score on an annual basis and all teams eventually exceeding the established benchmark 925 multi-year average score,” concludes Bowen.