Seven Fordham University athletic teams were among more than 1,000 Division I squads to be publicly recognized by the NCAA for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores—the annual scorecard of academic achievement.
Bret Biestek and Abigail Corning
With seven teams honored, Fordham ranks third-highest among Atlantic 10 schools. Dayton and George Washington universities tied at nine teams. Richmond had eight teams.
In addition, Fordham has posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. It was recognized as one of 56 NCAA Division I programs, and one of three current Atlantic 10 schools, with one or more teams that have been recognized in each of the past nine years.
APRs for all Division I teams were released on May 14. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason, and they also can face penalties for continued low academic performance.
Those Ram teams honored are baseball, golf, men’s swimming and diving, men’s indoor track and field, men’s outdoor track and field, women’s indoor track and field, and women’s tennis. Women’s indoor track and field and women’s tennis have both been honored in each of the nine years the NCAA has released the scores. Baseball is recognized for the seventh time; Men’s indoor and outdoor track and field programs are recognized for the fifth time, as is the men’s swimming & diving program.
“We are honored to be one of 56 NCAA Division I programs that have had a team honored in each of the nine years the NCAA has been compiling APR scores,” said Director of Athletics David Roach. “These student-athletes have demonstrated that they are as serious about their academic accomplishments as they are about their athletic success, and we are extremely proud of them as well as of their coaches and the academic support staff.”
The 1,049 teams publicly recognized for high achievement represent 631 women’s teams and 418 men’s or mixed squads. In 2013, 976 teams were recognized.
The public recognition awards are part of the broad Division I academic reform effort. The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each individual student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation.
The scores required to be in the top 10 ranged from 980 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport, with the majority of top 10 teams earning a perfect APR.
“Each year, more and more teams are achieving perfect APR scores,” said NCAA president Mark Emmert, adding that member schools are “providing tremendous opportunities for student-athletes” to succeed both on and off the field.
The NCAA honors are the latest academic awards earned by Fordham student-athletes. This year two student-athletes, Abigail Corning (women’s basketball) and Bret Biestek (football), were named Capital One Academic All-District, with Biestek going on to earn First Team Capital One Academic All-America® honors.
