> NCAA APR Central
INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA's annual Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) was released Tuesday (May 24), and Missouri State has learned that 14 of its programs have met or exceeded the minimum APR standard of 925. The only two MSU programs not meeting the standard -- men's basketball and football -- were already working toward improvement plans put in place last year.
The Academic Progress Rate is a real-time measure of eligibility and retention of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team. The most recent APR scores are based on a multi-year rate that averages scores from the 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years.
With a multi-year rate of 896, the men's basketball program will not be subject to penalties this year due to the team's demonstrated academic improvement and favorable comparison based on other academic and institutional factors. The 2009-10 single-year rate for men's basketball was 914, compared to 865 a year ago.
Football, which has a multi-year APR of 917 and a 2009-10, single-year rate of 911, will face a reduction in scholarships for the second straight year. The Bears will be penalized 6.25 scholarships for the 2011 season, but operated below their maximum equivalency of 63 scholarships during 2010-11 and may take a portion of the penalty retroactively. In essence, the Bears will be penalized 0.46 scholarships for the 2011 season.
Missouri State Director of Athletics Kyle Moats said Missouri State accepts the report and noted the progress made over the last year.
"Because the APR is a rolling four-year average, and the numbers released in this report are from the 2009-10 academic year, it will take football and men's basketball time to get back to the 925 standard," said Moats. "Even though we projected these score results, it is important that all of our programs strive to reach the standard every year. We are making strides through the improvement plans we put in place a year ago for these two sports, and I am very proud of our other programs that continue to meet the national standard."
Moats noted the football scholarship reductions will not directly affect student-athletes currently receiving athletic scholarships nor those already committed to Missouri State through National Letters of Intent.
He also stated that minimizing special admission requests and implementing the "STAMP" (Student-Athletes Making Progress toward their degree) program have brought measurable improvements over the last year. With the new STAMP program, student-athletes admitted through admission alternatives meet with staff from the Achievement Center for Intercollegeiate Athletics once a week for a year. They also must attend one-hour meetings that include the following components: First-year experience, Multicultural programming, Tutoring/Objective-based study hall, Career planning, and mentoring.
Missouri State's other programs have posted the following multi-year APR scores: baseball (950), men's golf (960), men's soccer (968), men's swimming and diving (975), women's basketball (948), women's cross country (985), field hockey (963), women's golf (977), softball (984), women's soccer (985), women's swimming and diving (960), women's indoor track and field (952), women's outdoor track and field (954), volleyball (990).
This year marks the seventh year of APR data. Every team posting an APR score below 925 is required to develop a specific academic improvement plan. Teams posting APR scores below 900 must submit those plans to the NCAA national office for review and approval.
