April 22, 2009

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The NCAA has honored six Furman University athletic teams with public recognition awards for their latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, the organization has announced.

The six Furman teams cited include men's cross country, men's golf, men's outdoor track & field, women's basketball, and women's indoor track & field, and women's outdoor track & field.

These teams posted APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports for the past four years.

A total of 767 teams received awards this year representing 211 Division I institutions. High-performing teams receiving awards posted APR scores ranging from 976 to a perfect 1,000.

Of the teams receiving awards for their latest academic performance are 319 men's teams and 448 women's teams. The men's sports with the highest number of teams garnering public recognition are men's basketball and cross country (35 each) and golf (32). The women's sports with the highest number of teams receiving awards are tennis (57), volleyball (48) and golf (46).

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 both retention at an institution and academic eligibility in its calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.

The next round of multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams will be announced May 6. The announcement also will include immediate and historical penalties for low-performing teams.