Trio of Razorback Programs Earn NCAA APR Recognition

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Three University of Arkansas intercollegiate athletic programs earned public recognition awards for their exemplary academic performance by the NCAA on Wednesday.  The Razorbacks’ women’s golf, men’s golf and volleyball teams were honored for their standing among the top 10 percent of academic performing teams in the country in their respective sports in the multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) for the 2012-13 academic year.
 
All three Razorback programs honored earned a perfect 1,000 multi-year APR based on scores from the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years. Women’s golf was honored with a public recognition award for the fifth time since the APR public recognition program was initiated. In addition to this year’s selection, the Razorback women’s golf program was recognized for the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.
 
Men’s golf and volleyball each earned their second-consecutive honor after being recognized with the public recognition award for the first time in program history last year. The University of Arkansas has earned a total of eight public recognition awards in the past two years.
 
“Thanks to the dedication and commitment of Razorback student-athletes, the University of Arkansas has once again been nationally recognized for its academic excellence,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. “With a program focus centered on achieving personal bests both on the field and in the classroom, Razorback student-athletes are advancing on the path to their degree while competing athletically in the nation’s most competitive conference. We are very proud of the outstanding efforts of our student-athletes. We are also appreciative of our coaches, the staff of our Office for Student-Athlete Success and all Razorback Foundation members for helping provide the support to assist our more than 460 student-athletes in achieving their academic and athletic goals.”
 
Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR).  This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports.  Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport.
 
The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship.  The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance. The NCAA is announcing multi-year APR scores for all Division I teams, including those earning public recognition awards, on May 14.

The University of Arkansas has earned a public recognition award each year since the program was initiated. Women’s golf was honored for the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Gymnastics was recognized in 2009-10 and in 2010-11 with men’s tennis. In 2011-12, a school record five programs were recognized including men’s golf, men’s tennis, gymnastics, swimming and diving and volleyball.

For more information regarding Razorback Athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.