BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Patriot League’s member institution athletic programs continued their academic excellence, with more than 85 percent of League teams posting an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score at or above the national average of 986 in the latest NCAA data release.
The Patriot League had 165 of its 194 teams score at or above the national average multi-year APR. The APR data also provided a multi-year national average for each sport. The League had a total of 167 teams finish at or above the national average per sport, with every League team finishing at or above their respective mark in baseball, men’s basketball, football and women’s rowing.
Eighty-six programs received a perfect APR score of 1,000, an increase of four teams from a year ago and an 18-team increase over three years. 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 is second among the 32 NCAA Division I conferences in APR, eligibility and retention trends by conference. In the latest release of data by the NCAA, the League is second in APR (994), second in eligibility (996) and second in retention (993) trends.
The League is also second in the FCS in APR (986), eligibility (991) and retention (981) trends by a conference for its eight football programs. The Patriot League’s men’s basketball programs are first in eligibility (1,000), second in APR (996) and second in retention (992) trends. The League’s women’s basketball teams rank eighth in APR (994), ninth in eligibility (996) and 12th in retention (992) trends. All information is based on data available for the 2024-25 academic year.
“Our coaches and institutions do exceptional work in recruiting and supporting student-athletes who 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 rank among the NCAA leaders in student-athlete eligibility, 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 2021-22, 2022-23, 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.
2024-25 APR Public Recognition Awards (95)
APR Public Recognition honors teams earning multiyear APRs in the Top 10 percent of all NCAA squads in each sport.
Baseball (4): Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette
Field Hockey (3): Boston University, Holy Cross, Lehigh
FCS Football (4): Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Lafayette
Men’s Basketball (6): American, Bucknell, Colgate, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy
Men’s Cross Country (4): Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Men’s Golf (6): Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Lacrosse (2): Colgate, Holy Cross
Men’s Soccer (2): Bucknell, Holy Cross
Men’s Swimming and Diving (4): American, Boston University, Bucknell, Lehigh
Men’s Tennis (3): Boston University, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Track (5): Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Softball (3): Army, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Women’s Basketball (3): Army, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Women’s Cross Country (7): Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Golf (4): Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Navy
Women’s Lacrosse (7): American, Army, Boston University, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Rowing (5): Bucknell, Georgetown, Loyola Maryland, MIT, Navy
Women’s Soccer (2): Lehigh, Navy
Women’s Swimming and Diving (5): American, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Women’s Tennis (7): Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Track (5): Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Volleyball (4): Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland
Additional Teams with APR Public Recognition from Full-Member Institutions (7)
Men’s Gymnastics (2) – Army, Navy
Men’s Water Polo (1) – Bucknell
Men’s Wrestling (1) – Bucknell
Mixed Rifle (1) – Army
Women’s Ice Hockey (2) – Boston University, Colgate
Patriot League Teams Posting Perfect Multi-Year APR Scores (86)
Baseball (3) – Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette
Field Hockey (3) – Boston University, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Men’s Basketball (3) – American, Colgate, Lehigh
Men’s Cross Country (4) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Men’s Golf (5) – Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Lacrosse (2) – Colgate, Holy Cross
Men’s Soccer (2) – Bucknell, Holy Cross
Men’s Swimming and Diving (4) – American, Boston University, Bucknell, Lehigh
Men’s Tennis (3) – Boston University, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Men’s Track & Field (5) – Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Softball (3) – Army, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Women’s Basketball (3) – Army, Holy Cross, Lehigh
Women’s Cross Country (7) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Golf (4) – Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Navy
Women’s Lacrosse (7) – American, Army, Boston University, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Rowing (5) – Bucknell, Georgetown, Loyola Maryland, MIT, Navy
Women’s Soccer (2) – Lehigh, Navy
Women’s Swimming & Diving (5) – American, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
Women’s Tennis (7) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Track & Field (5) – Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland
Women’s Volleyball (4) – Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland
Additional Teams with Perfect APR Scores from Full-Member Institutions (6)
Men’s Gymnastics (2) – Army, Navy
Men’s Water Polo (1) – 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 – 167 Teams
Baseball (6) – Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: Baseball Avg. = 980)
Field Hockey (5) – Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: FH Avg. = 988)
Football (8) – Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Richmond (Note: Football Average was 965 – 971 (FBS) and 959 (FCS))
Men’s Basketball (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MBB Avg. = 971)
Men’s Cross Country (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MXC Avg. = 985)
Men’s Golf (5) – Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland (Note: MGolf Avg. = 988)
Men’s Lacrosse (8) – Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MLAX Avg. = 989)
Men’s Soccer (8) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: MSoccer Avg. = 981)
Men’s Swimming & Diving (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MSwim&Dive Avg. = 986)
Men’s Tennis (7) – Army, Boston University, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: MTEN Avg. = 986)
Men’s Track & Field (8) – American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: MTrack&Field Avg = 978)
Softball (6) – Army, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh (Note: Softball Avg. = 989)
Women’s Basketball (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: WBB Avg. = 984)
Women’s Cross Country (8) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland (Note: WXC Avg. = 990)
Women’s Golf (4) – Boston University, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Navy (Note: WGolf Avg. = 994)
Women’s Lacrosse (8) – American, Army, Boston University, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WLAX Avg. = 995)
Women’s Rowing (9) – Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Georgetown, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, MIT, Navy (Note: WRow Avg. = 990)
Women’s Soccer (9) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: WSoccer Avg. = 989)
Women’s Swimming & Diving (8) – American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy (Note: WSwim&Dive Avg. = 993)
Women’s Tennis (7) – Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland (Note: WTEN Avg. = 993)
Women’s Track & Field (10) – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland, Navy (Note: WTrack&Field Avg. = 986)
Women’s Volleyball (6) – Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola Maryland (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-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.