SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Fourteen Southern Conference sports topped the national average in Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores released by the National Collegiate Athletics Association on Wednesday (May 14).

A total of 98 SoCon teams beat the national average for NCAA Division I, while 19 different squads posted a perfect score of 1,000. Davidson, Elon, Samford and Wofford had every one of their respective programs beat the national average and eight different SoCon schools had at least one team post a perfect score. The Wildcats had seven teams earn the perfect score, while Wofford had four teams, including three men’s programs, earn a mark of 1,000.

Southern Conference football teams also scored very well, as all nine programs topped the national average of 947, making football the only SoCon sport to have all its participants beat the national Division I mark. The league’s APR of 971 in football is a 24-point improvement over the national benchmark.

Women’s basketball posted a league-wide APR of 979, six points higher than the national average of 973. Seven of the league’s 10 teams topped 979.

The NCAA’s APR scores released Tuesday are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years. The APR report is part of the NCAA’s overall Division I academic reform effort.

Volleyball posted the best APR in the conference with a score of 986, as nine of the league’s 11 teams were above the national average of 982. Women’s Outdoor track (985) and tennis (984) were close behind. Golf earned the highest score on the men’s side with a mark of 984.

Last week, 39 SoCon teams were honored with the Public Recognition Award, given to programs ranking in the top 10 percent of APR scores within their respective sports.

ABOUT THE APR
· The Academic Progress Rate is a real-time measure of eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team, which has been shown to predict later graduation success.

· The most recent APR scores are based on a multi-year rate that averages scores from the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.

· Under the revised penalty structure, the Division I Board of Directors has set a cut score of 930 (out of 1,000) as a threshold for teams to meet or face possible sanctions.