April 22, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS -- Eleven Boston College athletics teams were among 712 sports teams honored by the NCAA Thursday with public recognition awards for their latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate scores.

The BC teams honored included men's golf, men's skiing, men's indoor track, men's outdoor track, women's basketball, women's field hockey, women's skiing, women's soccer, women's tennis, women's indoor track and women's volleyball.

These teams posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. The public recognition awards are part of the broad Division I academic reform effort.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.

High-performing teams receiving awards posted APR scores ranging from 965 to a perfect 1,000, said NCAA President Myles Brand.

"Congratulations to these teams and their student-athletes for success in the classroom," Brand said. "They are setting a great example for their peers and future student-athletes, as well."

The teams recognized this year for high achievement represent 11.4 percent of the approximately 6,272 Division I teams. The list includes 401 women's teams and 311 men's or mixed squads. A total of 192 institutions, out of 329 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list.

Last year, a total of 839 teams were recognized. There are fewer awards this year because there are fewer teams with perfect scores. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on how many achieved perfect 1,000 APR scores. In some sports, teams had to maintain a perfect score over the four-year period in order to be recognized.

Multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving public recognition awards, will be announced May 6.