The University of Nevada, Reno's athletics teams have turned in their eighth consecutive year of penalty-free academic performance in the latest Academic Progress Rates (APR) report released by the NCAA last month.
Nevada saw two of its teams - men's golf and rifle - turn in perfect multi-year rates, meaning that those teams had perfect eligibility and retention of all of their student-athletes in the four years from 2007-11. Both men's golf and rifle received public recognition awards for ranking in the top 10 percent in the nation as part of the 2012 NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program.
All 16 Wolf Pack teams turned in multi-year APR scores above the 925 standard in this year's report. In the multi-year APR numbers, the Wolf Pack saw seven of its teams improve their scores from one year ago, including football, men's basketball, rifle, softball, cross county, swimming and diving and volleyball, while men's golf stayed the same with its perfect 1000 mark.
The NCAA also released its APR information for all of the head coaches in the nation, and 10 of the Wolf Pack's 13 head coaches had marks above the national averages. Six Nevada coaches and teams turned in perfect 1000 marks for 2010-11: cross country coach Kirk Elias, rifle coach Fred Harvey, volleyball coach Ruth Lawanson, softball coach Matt Meuchel, men's golf coach Jacob Wilner and former women's tennis coach Sylvain Malroux. Football coach Chris Ault, men's basketball coach David Carter and women's basketball coach Jane Albright were all above the national averages for their respective sports.
"We are pleased that our APR numbers continue to improve," said Cary Groth, director of athletics. "That is a tribute to the dedication of our student-athletes, coaches and staff as well as all of the professors and staff on the University campus. We still have room to improve and continue to be committed to providing all student-athletes with all of the academic support and resources they need to reach their academic goals and leave the University with their degrees."
The APR is a real-time "snapshot" of a team's academic success and is used by the NCAA and universities to measure current academic success by looking at the academic progress of each current student-athlete. It includes eligibility, retention, and graduation as factors in the rate calculation. Each student-athlete can add two points to the team's overall score per semester, including one for academic eligibility and one for returning to school the next semester or graduating.
The 925 threshold set by the NCAA equals roughly a 60 percent Graduation Success Rate. Teams that score below 925 and have a student-athlete who failed academically and left school can lose scholarships. Teams can lose up to 10 percent of their scholarships each year for poor academic performance under the immediate penalty structure and also face a historical penalty structure.
"The latest APR data caps off an outstanding academic year for the Wolf Pack," University President Marc Johnson said.
The Nevada Wolf Pack's Graduation Success Rate is at its all-time high of 78 percent and has improved in each of the last seven years. The University also saw 101 student-athletes earn their degrees in the 2011-12 academic year with 50 graduating in December and 51 this spring and summer. The University has seen 467 of its student-athletes graduate in the past seven years.
"I want to extend my appreciation and congratulations to our student-athletes and to the coaches, faculty and staff who support them for their continued academic success," Johnson said. "Just as we support our student-athletes to help them achieve success in their field of competition, it remains our equally high priority to help them find success in the classroom and stay on the path to earn their college degrees."
Nevada's complete APR report and APR data on all NCAA institutions is available online at ncaa.org.
APR Scores for University of Nevada Teams:
Baseball: 938
Football: 949
Men's basketball: 934
Men's golf: 1000
Men's tennis: 975
Rifle: 1000
Softball: 982
Women's basketball: 983
Cross country: 951
Women's golf: 969
Soccer: 980
Swimming and diving: 946
Women's tennis: 958
Indoor track and field: 955
Outdoor track and field: 957
Volleyball: 980
