June 14, 2012
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Patriot League teams continue to shine in the classroom, and the NCAA provided the numbers to back it up on Thursday as 79 League-sponsored squads and 84 overall from full-member institutions were honored with Public Recognition Awards for finishing in the top 10 percent of their sport in the most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Bucknell and Holy Cross led all Patriot League schools with 17 programs honored, tying for fourth nationally along with Notre Dame, Penn and Yale. Lafayette and Colgate each had 13 programs honored while Lehigh totaled 10.
The Crusaders had the most Patriot League teams honored with 16, followed by the Bison with 15. All 13 of Lafayette's teams to earn Public Recognition Awards compete in the Patriot League, while Colgate had 12 Patriot League squads recognized.
Each school that competes in the Patriot League had at least one program honored. In addition to the eight full members, Fordham (football), Georgetown (football) and Massachuetts Institute of Technology (Women's Rowing) had their League programs recognized.
The Patriot League once again placed second among all conferences in Public Recognition awards, finishing behind only the Ivy League and ahead of the third-place BIG EAST Conference. Six more Patriot League teams were honored than last season, while the number of teams recognized at the League's eight full-member institutions went up by two.
Multiple squads were recognized in all 23 Patriot League-sponsored sports, with three or more honored in 19 of those sports. Leading the way with five teams recognized were the sports of men's basketball, women's cross country and women's tennis, while four squads were honored in women's sports of basketball,lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming and diving and indoor and outdoor track and field, as well as men's cross country. A total of 34 men's and 45 women's Patriot League programs were honored.
More than 950 NCAA Division I sports teams were honored by the NCAA for earning Public Recognition Awards, based on their most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rate. These awards are given each year to teams with APRs in the top 10 percent in each sport.
The 954 teams publicly recognized this year for high achievement represent 560 women's teams and 394 men's or mixed squads.
Top performing APRs this year ranged from 978 to a perfect 1,000, with the majority of teams earning a perfect APR. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on the number of perfect scores.
A total of 263 schools, out of 347 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list. Additionally, ekght schools that offer athletics in more than one division, out of 49 overall within the NCAA, placed Division I teams on the list. Dartmouth College had the most teams (23) recognized, followed by Brown University (20) and Harvard University (18).
In seven years of the NCAA's academic reform program, 2,946 different teams have received Public Recognition Awards, representing 46 percent of eligible teams during that time. Of that total, 209 teams have received Public Recognition Awards each of the seven years of the program. In 2011, 909 teams were recognized.
Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR. The score measures eligibility and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.
Full APRs for all teams, including access to postseason play and penalties for low-performing teams, will be released June 20.
To search all NCAA Public Recognition Award winner by conference, school, sport or year, go to the datbase here
A full listing of Patriot League teams receiving NCAA Public Recognition Awards is included below, along with additional teams from full-member institutions.
Patriot League Teams Receiving Public Recognition Awards
American (8): Men's Swimming and Diving, Men's Indoor Track and Field, Men's Outdoor Track and Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Women's Indoor Track and Field, Women's Outdoor Track and Field
Army (1): Men's Cross Country
Bucknell (15): Baseball, Field Hockey, Men's Basketball, Men's Cross Country, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Tennis, Men's Indoor Track and Field, Men's Outdoor Track and Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Rowing, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Women's Indoor Track and Field, Women's Volleyball
Colgate (12): Men's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Men's Indoor Track and Field, Men's Outdoor Track and Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Rowing, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Women's Indoor Track and Field, Women's Outdoor Track and Field
Holy Cross (16): Baseball, Field Hockey, Men's Basketball, Men's Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming and Diving, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Women's Indoor Track and Field, Women's Outdoor Track and Field
Lafayette (13): Baseball, Football, Men's Basketball, Men's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Men's Tennis, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Women's Outdoor Track and Field
Lehigh (9): Field Hockey, Men's Basketball, Softball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Rowing, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Women's Volleyball
Navy (2): Men's Basketball, Men's Swimming and Diving
Fordham (1): Football
Georgetown (1): Football
MIT (1): Women's Rowing
Additional Teams Honored from Full-Member League Institutions
Army (1): Men's Wrestling
Bucknell (2): Men's Water Polo, Women's Golf
Colgate (1): Women's Ice Hockey
Holy Cross (1): Women's Golf
Lehigh (1): Women's Golf
Navy (2): Men's Gymnastics, Mixed Rifle