Football | 4/20/2016 1:03:00 PM

GS REPORT CARD

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Women's Swimming & Diving posted its highest multi-year score ever
• Volleyball and Men's Soccer had the highest multi-year scores in the Sun Belt in their respective sports
• Four GS sports finished with perfect scores of 1,000 for the 2014-15 academic year
• Nine Georgia Southern programs recorded the same or a better score for the 2014-15 academic year than their multi-year APR score

STATESBORO – The NCAA released the data from its Academic Progress Rate (APR) program on Wednesday, and the Georgia Southern women's swimming & diving program had a multi-year score of 997, its best multi-year score ever since the NCAA started using this metric to assess academic performances for each school in each sport. All 17 GS athletic programs made passing grades, as well.

"These numbers are a testament to the hard work our student-athletes are putting into their academics," said GS director of athletics Tom Kleinlein. "We're continually stressing 'Rings, Diplomas & Leaders' in this department and we're starting to see the results of that. I'm proud of the programs that had such good years in the classroom and I'm hopeful that all of our sports continue to follow suit."

The APR is a scorecard that tracks classroom performance of Division I sports teams, and it takes into account eligibility and retention of student-athletes over a four-year period. It measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in each sport. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason, and programs also can face penalties for continued low academic performance. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on annual scores from the 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years.

The GS volleyball and men's soccer programs recorded APRs that ranked first in the Sun Belt in their respective sports. Volleyball, along with rifle, were recipients of the NCAA's Public Recognition Award, which was announced last week and goes to programs with a multi-year APR in the top 10 percent nationally of all squads in each sport. 

Five Eagle programs increased multi-year scores from a year ago – baseball (957), men's basketball (947), men's soccer (991), women's swimming & diving (997) and volleyball (1000). The GS rifle program's 1,000 equaled last year's multi-year score.

Four GS sports finished with scores of 1,000 for the 2014-15 academic year only, which bodes well for future APR scoring. Those sports included men's tennis, women's cross country, women's swimming & diving and volleyball.

In all, nine Georgia Southern programs recorded the same or a better score for the 2014-15 academic year than their multi-year APR score, which, again, bodes well for future APR scoring. In addition to the four mentioned above, the sports included men's basketball (980), football (940), women's basketball (984), women's soccer (979) and women's track (978).

For more information on the APR, please check the NCAA website at www.ncaa.org.