BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Patriot League’s member institution athletic programs continued their academic excellence, with more than 88 percent of League teams posting an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score at or above the national average of 984 in the latest NCAA data release.
The Patriot League had 172 of its 195 teams score at or above the national average multi-year APR, an improvement of four teams from last year’s information. The APR data also provided a multi-year national average for each sport. The League had a total of 170 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 lacrosse, men’s swimming and diving, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s rowing, women’s soccer and women’s track and field.
Seventy-five programs received a perfect APR score of 1,000, an increase of seven teams from a year ago. Holy Cross had a League-best 13 teams with perfect multi-year APR scores, while Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh tied for second with 10 teams apiece. Bucknell (9), Loyola Maryland (6), Boston University (5), American (4), Army West Point (3) and Navy (3) each had multiple teams with perfect multi-year APR scores. Associate members Georgetown and Richmond rounded out the list of perfect APR scores with one team apiece.
The Patriot League continues to lead the 32 NCAA Division I conferences in APR and retention trends by conference. In the latest release of data by the NCAA, the League is first in APR (993), tied for first in retention (991) and second in eligibility trends (995).
The League leads the FCS in APR (989), eligibility (991) and retention (986) trends by a conference for its football programs. The Patriot League’s men’s basketball programs are first in eligibility (996), second in APR (990) and third in retention (984) trends. The League’s women’s basketball teams rank first in retention (1,000), second in APR (998) and fifth in eligibility (996) trends. All information is based on data available for the 2022-23 academic year.
“Our coaches and institutions do exceptional work in recruiting and supporting student-athletes that desire and are committed to the Patriot League experience,” Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel said. “The ultimate measure of success is graduating from a Patriot League institution, so to continue to lead the nation in student-athlete retention and academic progress trends is an affirmation of that 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 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 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 (75)
Baseball (2) – Holy Cross, Lafayette
Field Hockey (3) – Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Men’s Basketball (2) – American, Colgate
Men’s Cross Country (5) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Golf (6) – Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Lacrosse (1) – Holy Cross
Men’s Soccer (1) – Bucknell
Men’s Swimming and Diving (5) – American, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Men’s Tennis (5) – Army, Boston University, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Track & Field (4) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Softball (2) – Army, 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 (1) – Holy Cross
Women’s Rowing (2) – Georgetown, Navy
Women’s Soccer (3) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Women’s Swimming & Diving (4) – American, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette
Women’s Tennis (6) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Track & Field (3) – Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Volleyball (4) – Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Navy
Additional Teams with Perfect APR Scores From Full-Member Institutions (6)
Men’s Gymnastics (1) – Navy
Men’s Wrestling (2) – American, Bucknell
Mixed Rifle (1) – Army
Women’s Ice Hockey (2) – Boston University, Colgate
Teams Finishing At or Above Multi-Year National Average Per Sport – PL Totals – 170 Teams
Baseball (6) – Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: Baseball Avg. = 978)
Field Hockey (6) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: FH Avg. = 990)
Football (7) – Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: Football Average was 963 – 968 (FBS) and 957 (FCS))
Men’s Basketball (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MBB Avg. = 968)
Men’s Cross Country (8) – Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MXC Avg. = 984)
Men’s Golf (6) – Bucknell, 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. = 987)
Men’s Soccer (7) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Navy (Note: MSoccer Avg. = 980)
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, Boston University, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MTEN Avg. = 987)
Men’s Track & Field (8) – American, Army, 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 (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WBB Avg. = 981)
Women’s Cross Country (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WXC Avg. = 988)
Women’s Golf (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Navy, Richmond (Note: WGolf Avg. = 993)
Women’s Lacrosse (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland (Note: WLAX Avg. = 993)
Women’s Rowing (9) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Georgetown, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, MIT, Navy (Note: WRow Avg. = 989)
Women’s Soccer (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WSoccer Avg. = 989)
Women’s Swimming & Diving (7) – American, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: WSwim&Dive Avg. = 992)
Women’s Tennis (6) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland (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. = 983)
Women’s Volleyball (6) – 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-athletes 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 who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.