Men's basketball is being honored for the fifth time since the honor began with the 2004-05 academic year, more than any other Bronco athletic program. It is the first time Bronco hoops has been honored since 2010-11 and was one of only 18 programs in all of Division I to carry a team cumulative GPA above 3.00 in 2012-13, earning the Broncos the National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award.
Gymnastics is being honored for the fourth time overall and the first since 2009-10. The Broncos were not only successful in competition in 2012-13, winning the 2013 Mid-American Conference championship, but also in the classroom. WMU gymnastics boasted the second highest team GPA in the nation at 3.8086, also ranking as the highest GPA on record for any team ever at Western Michigan.
Men's tennis is being honored for the second-straight year as the Broncos' string of team GPAs over 3.20 reached 10 years in 2012-13.
The women's golf program is being honored for the first time as the Broncos carried a cumulative team GPA of 3.47 in 2012-13. WMU continued its academic excellence in 2013-14, raising its team GPA to 3.50.
The 1,049 teams publicly recognized for high achievement represent 631 women’s teams and 418 men’s or mixed squads. In 2013, 976 teams were recognized.
The scores required to be in the top ten ranged from 980 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport, with the majority of top 10 teams earning a perfect APR.
A total of 275 Division I schools (and seven in other divisions who have a sport competing in Division I) placed at least one team on the top APR list, up 19 from last year.
“Each year, more and more teams are achieving perfect APR scores,” said NCAA president Mark Emmert. “We are proud of our member schools’ commitment to providing tremendous opportunities for student-athletes so they can succeed on the field, in the classroom, and in life.”
Dartmouth College had the most teams (26 of 28) recognized, followed by Brown University (22 of 31) and Bucknell University (21 of 27). The conferences with the most teams receiving recognition are the Ivy League (117), Patriot League (94), Atlantic Coast Conference (77) and Big Ten Conference (66).
The APR measures eligibility, graduation, and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in each sport.
The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-2012 and 2012-13 academic years.
APRs for all Division I teams will be released May 14. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason, and they also can face penalties for continued low academic performance.
To search other teams with NCAA Public Recognition Awards, please click here.