BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Patriot League’s member programs proved their excellence in the classroom once again with nearly 85 percent of League teams posting an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score at or above the national average in the latest release of data from the NCAA.
The Patriot League had 165 of its 195 teams score at or above the national average multi-year APR of 984. The APR data also provided a multi-year national average for each sport. The Patriot League had a total of 162 teams finish at or above the national average per sport with every League team finishing at or above their respective mark in baseball, women’s basketball, football and men’s lacrosse.
Seventy-one programs received a perfect APR score of 1,000. Colgate had a League-best 14 teams with a perfect multi-year APR score, Holy Cross finished second with 11 teams, while Lafayette and Lehigh had nine teams apiece. Boston University (6), Bucknell (6), American (5), Loyola Maryland (5), Navy (4), Army (1), Georgetown (1) and Richmond (1) each had at least one program with an APR score of 1,000.
The Patriot League continues to lead the 32 NCAA Division I conferences in both APR and retention trends by conference. In the latest release of data by the NCAA, the League is second in eligibility trends by conference.
“In real terms, what these numbers represent are not only the academic success of our student-athletes but also the remarkable job our coaches and institutions do in recruiting and supporting student-athletes throughout their collegiate experience,” said Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel. “The ultimate measure of success is graduating from a Patriot League institution, so to lead the nation in student-athlete retention and academic progress trends is an affirmation of that commitment.”
The APR, created to provide more of a real-time measurement of academic success than graduation rates offer, is a team-based metric where scholarship student-athletes earn one point each term for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. For schools that do not offer scholarships, recruited student-athletes are tracked. Every Division I program across the nation calculates its APR each academic year, similar to a report card. The most recent APR scores are multi-year rates based on the scores from the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years. National aggregates are based on all teams with usable data at the time of analysis.
For more information, visit the
NCAA APR release. To view the data by conference, school, sport and year visit the
NCAA APR Searchable Database.
Patriot League Teams Posting Perfect Multi-Year APR Scores (71)
Baseball (1) – Holy Cross
Field Hockey (2) – Bucknell, Colgate
Men’s Cross Country (4) – Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Men’s Golf (5) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Lacrosse (1) – Holy Cross
Men’s Soccer (2) – Bucknell, Lafayette
Men’s Swimming and Diving (2) – Colgate, Lafayette
Men’s Tennis (4) – Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Track & Field (2) – Holy Cross, Lehigh
Softball (2) – Holy Cross, Lafayette
Women’s Basketball (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette
Women’s Cross Country (7) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy
Women’s Golf (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Navy, Richmond
Women’s Lacrosse (3) – American, Colgate, Holy Cross
Women’s Rowing (4) – Colgate, Georgetown, Lehigh, Navy
Women’s Soccer (6) – Army West Point, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Women’s Swimming & Diving (4) – American, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette
Women’s Tennis (6) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Track & Field (3) – American, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Volleyball (3) – American, Colgate, Navy
Additional Teams with Perfect APR Scores From Full-Member Institutions (2)
Men’s Ice Hockey (1) – Colgate
Women’s Ice Hockey (1) – Boston University
Teams Finishing At or Above Multi-Year National Average Per Sport – PL Totals – 162 Teams
Baseball (6) – Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: Baseball Avg. = 977)
Field Hockey (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: FH Avg. = 992)
Football (7) – Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: Football Average is 964 – 969 (FBS) and 959 (FCS))
Men’s Basketball (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MBB Avg. = 968)
Men’s Cross Country (8) – American, Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MXC Avg. = 983)
Men’s Golf (5) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland (Note: MGolf Avg. = 988)
Men’s Lacrosse (9) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MLAX Avg. = 986)
Men’s Soccer (8) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MSoccer Avg. = 979)
Men’s Swimming & Diving (9) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MSwim&Dive Avg. = 986)
Men’s Tennis (6) – Army, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MTEN Avg. = 986)
Men’s Track & Field (8) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: MTrack&Field Avg = 974)
Softball (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette (Note: Softball Avg. = 987)
Women’s Basketball (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WBB Avg. = 983)
Women’s Cross Country (9) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WXC Avg. = 990)
Women’s Golf (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Richmond, Navy (Note: WGolf Avg. = 993)
Women’s Lacrosse (8) – American, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WLAX Avg. = 994)
Women’s Rowing (6) – Boston University, Colgate, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Navy (Note: WRow Avg. = 990)
Women’s Soccer (8) – American, Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland (Note: WSoccer Avg. = 990)
Women’s Swimming & Diving (7) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Navy (Note: WSwim&Dive Avg. = 993)
Women’s Tennis (8) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WTEN Avg. = 991)
Women’s Track & Field (9) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WTrack&Field Avg. = 984)
Women’s Volleyball (7) – American, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WVB Avg. = 989)
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athlete can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.