RU men’s golf team earns academic recognition

For the first time in program history, the Radford men’s golf team has been recognized for its academic excellence, receiving Public Recognition Awards as standouts in the latest Academic Progress Report (APR), the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.

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. The Highlanders were one of 107 Division I programs that received the award. 

The men’s golf program joins a group of nearly 1,400 Division I programs from 326 schools for academic excellence after they scored in the top 10% 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. 

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.