BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Patriot League’s member programs continued their excellence in the classroom with more than 86 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 168 of its 195 teams score at or above the national average multi-year APR of 984, an improvement of three teams from last year. The APR data also provided a multi-year national average for each sport. The Patriot League had a total of 165 teams finish at or above the national average per sport with every League team finishing at or above their respective mark in baseball, football, men’s basketball, men’s swimming and diving, men’s track and field, women’s cross country and women’s track and field.
Sixty-seven programs received a perfect APR score of 1,000. Lafayette had a League-best 12 teams with a perfect multi-year APR score, Holy Cross finished second with 11 while Colgate (9), Lehigh (8) and Bucknell (6) made up the top five. Loyola Maryland and Navy had five times apiece with perfect APR scores, while American and Boston University each had four. Army West Point (1), Georgetown (1) and Richmond (1) completed the list of perfect APR scores within the League.
The Patriot League continues to lead the 32 NCAA Division I conference retention trends by conference. In the latest release of data by the NCAA, the League is second in APR and eligibility trends by conference.
The League leads the FCS in APR (983) and retention (986) trends by a conference for its football programs, finishing second in eligibility (981) trends. The Patriot League’s men’s basketball programs are second in NCAA DI in eligibility (984) and retention (990) trends by conference. They are also second in APR trends (987). All information is based on the data available for the 2021-22 academic year.
“For the third consecutive year, the Patriot League leads all Division I conferences in retention rates for student-athletes,” Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel said. “Our coaches and institutions do remarkable work in recruiting and supporting student-athletes that desire and are committed to the Patriot League experience. The ultimate measure of success is graduating from a Patriot League institution, so to continue lead the nation in student-athlete retention and academic progress trends is an affirmation of the dedication.”
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 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 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 (67)
Baseball (2) – Holy Cross, Lafayette
Field Hockey (1) – Bucknell
Men’s Cross Country (4) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, 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) – American, Colgate
Men’s Tennis (4) – Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy
Men’s Track & Field (4) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Softball (1) – Holy Cross
Women’s Basketball (5) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Women’s Cross Country (6) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Golf (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Navy, Richmond
Women’s Lacrosse (2) – American, Holy Cross
Women’s Rowing (3) – Colgate, Georgetown, Navy
Women’s Soccer (3) – Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Women’s Swimming & Diving (4) – American, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette
Women’s Tennis (7) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland, Navy
Women’s Track & Field (3) – Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Volleyball (3) – Colgate, Lafayette, Navy
Additional Teams with Perfect APR Scores from Full-Member Institutions (4)
Men’s Gymnastics (1) – Navy
Men’s Water Polo (1) – Bucknell
Mixed Rifle (1) – Army
Women’s Ice Hockey (1) – Boston University
Teams Finishing at or Above Multi-Year National Average Per Sport – PL Totals – 165 Teams
Baseball (6) – Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: Baseball Avg. = 977)
Field Hockey (6) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: FH Avg. = 991)
Football (7) – Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: Football Average was 962 – 968 (FBS) and 957 (FCS))
Men’s Basketball (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MBB Avg. = 967)
Men’s Cross Country (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, 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 (8) – Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MLAX Avg. = 987)
Men’s Soccer (8) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: MSoccer Avg. = 979)
Men’s Swimming & Diving (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MSwim&Dive Avg. = 985)
Men’s Tennis (6) – Army, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MTEN Avg. = 986)
Men’s Track & Field (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: MTrack&Field Avg = 974)
Softball (6) – Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: Softball Avg. = 988)
Women’s Basketball (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: WBB Avg. = 982)
Women’s Cross Country (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WXC Avg. = 989)
Women’s Golf (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Navy, Richmond (Note: WGolf Avg. = 993)
Women’s Lacrosse (8) – American, Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland (Note: WLAX Avg. = 994)
Women’s Rowing (5) – Colgate, Georgetown, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WRow Avg. = 990)
Women’s Soccer (7) – American, Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: WSoccer Avg. = 989)
Women’s Swimming & Diving (7) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Navy (Note: WSwim&Dive Avg. = 992)
Women’s Tennis (7) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WTEN Avg. = 991)
Women’s Track & Field (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WTrack&Field Avg. = 984)
Women’s Volleyball (7) – American, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: WVB Avg. = 990)
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.