Both the Radford University men’s and women’s basketball teams have been recognized by the NCAA for their academic performances.
For the second straight season, the Radford University women’s basketball team was recognized for their academic excellence, receiving Public Recognition Awards as standouts in the latest Academic Progress Report (APR), the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.
The Radford men’s basketball team was also recognized for its academic excellence, receiving Public Recognition Awards as standouts in the latest Academic Progress Report (APR), the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon. The Highlanders were one of 51 programs that received the award.
Both the women’s and the men’s basketball programs joined a group of nearly 1,400 Division I programs from 326 schools for academic excellence after they scored in the top 10 percent of their sports in the most recent Academic Progress Rate results. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams
These awards are given each year to teams with APRs in the top 10 percent of each sport, and the results are based on a four-year aggregate concluding with the 2018-19 academic year.
“Receiving the APR recognition and being in the top 10 percent of all Division I programs is something we are proud of,” said women’s head coach Mike McGuire. “This is the second consecutive season our program has received this recognition.
“It is a huge credit to our team’s commitment to excellence in the classroom and to Radford University. We strive to compete on and off the court, and this is another example of that. I want to thank Alix Guynn (the Associate AD for Student-Athlete Support Services) for her guidance with our team throughout the season to help our ladies. It takes a village and our program has great support from our administration.”
Teams earning Public Recognition Awards increased to 1,380, up by 52 from the previous academic year, largely due to an increase in squads with perfect scores. APRs for programs in the top 10% ranged from 987 to a perfect 1,000. The number of teams posting perfect scores increased to 1,266, an increase of 52 teams from last year.
“The number of teams earning Public Recognition Awards — including those earning perfect scores — has increased again, demonstrating the commitment member schools and college athletes have made to high academic achievement,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said. “Congratulations to these teams for their continued academic success.”
The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or academic term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in every sport. All teams must meet an academic threshold of 930 to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.
