Seven teams from the University of San Diego and three from San Diego State were among 1,380 NCAA Division I teams recognized Tuesday for outstanding academic achievements.
The USD women’s basketball, cross-country, swimming and diving, track and field and volleyball teams and men’s cross-country and tennis teams earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for having multiyear Academic Progress Rate scores in the top 10% of their sport, the NCAA announced Tuesday.
The San Diego State women’s golf, tennis and volleyball teams were also honored.
Because of the high scores among women’s teams, all the women’s teams receiving awards had perfect scores, the first time that has occurred in the 15 years of the awards program, Meghan Durham, an NCAA associate director of communications, told City News Service.
The total number of teams being recognized increased by 52 from a year ago and 96 from two years ago, largely as a result of an increase in perfect scores, according to Durham.
The Academic Progress Rate was created by the NCAA in 2004 in an effort to more accurately measure student-athletes’ progress and improve graduation rates. It is used to determine penalties for academically underperforming athletic programs.
The rate is a four-year average of academic performance that rewards student-athletes for remaining eligible as well as continuing education at the same school.
Every player receiving an athletic scholarship earns one retention point for staying in school and one eligibility point for being academically eligible. A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by 1,000 to determine the Academic Progress Rate.
Teams must meet a threshold of 930 to qualify for postseason play and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.
The awards announced Tuesday were based on a four-year average concluding with the 2018-19 academic year.
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