May 24, 2011
ATLANTA – The Academic Progress Report, released Tuesday by the NCAA, indicates that Georgia Tech’s overall scores have improved for a fourth consecutive year.
Ten of 17 Yellow Jacket sports teams either improved their multi-year APR or saw its score remain the same, compared to last year’s report.
Three Tech teams – golf and men’s and women’s cross country – posted perfect multi-year scores of 1,000.
The APR numbers released Tuesday are based on a multi-year rate that averages scores from the 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years.
Five additional Tech teams – women’s basketball, softball, men’s swimming, and men’s and women’s tennis – earned a perfect single-year score of 1,000 for the 2009-10 academic year.
“A goal is for us to raise the bar higher and higher every year,” Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “Our student-athletes, coaches and academic staff have done a good job of raising that bar. While we will not rest on our laurels, we are pleased to see tangible improvement in what we are doing academically.”
More Georgia Tech-related information from Tuesday’s release of the APR:
• ACC Coach of the Year Bruce Heppler’s golf team has produced a perfect score of 1,000 every year since the APR originated in 2003-04.
• The Yellow Jacket men’s and women’s cross country teams earned perfect scores of 1,000 for the second straight year.
• The Tech football team produced an APR higher than 965 (966) for the second straight year. Last year Paul Johnson’s squad recorded 967.
• Georgia Tech received one penalty, a loss of scholarship to men’s basketball that was served during the 2010-11 season. The Yellow Jackets are back to their full allotment of 13 scholarships for new coach Brian Gregory’s first season.
• Concerning men’s basketball, it should be noted that the program’s single-year APR has increased, from 840 in 2007-08, to 953 in 2008-09, to 960 in 2009-10, which is the most current available year.
• One week ago (May 17), four Georgia Tech teams – golf, softball, men’s and women’s cross country — were recognized by the NCAA for producing APR scores that ranked in the top 10 percent nationally within their respective sport.
More information on national APR scores from the NCAA:
• This year marks the seventh year of APR data for most teams. The APR is a multi-year rate based on the most recent four years of data.
• This is the sixth year of immediate (or contemporaneous) penalties for teams that score below 925 APR and have a student-athlete who leaves school academically ineligible.
• This year marks the fifth for historical penalties. Teams that receive three straight years of historical penalties (by scoring below 900 APR) face the potential of restrictions on postseason competition for the team (such as a bowl game or the men’s basketball tournament), in addition to scholarship and practice restrictions.
• Every team posting an APR score below 925 is required to develop a specific academic improvement plan. Teams posting APR scores below 900 must submit those plans to the NCAA national office for review.
• If a school submits a penalty waiver request, NCAA staff reviews not only the waiver but also the team’s improvement plan, which is based in part on goals and initiatives for improving their APR score. Staff decides whether to grant relief and whether to condition that relief based on the team achieving a target APR goal and implementing the improvement plan. If the conditions are not met, the team will have to face the penalty. Schools also can appeal if their team doesn’t meet the condition.
