Syracuse Athletics Achieves Sustained Academic Success

For the eighth year in a row, Syracuse University scored higher than a 982 in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR) program. Syracuse's 2018-19 APR score of 987 ties for the school's second highest rating since the APR began in 2006.

Six Orange teams earned the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for scoring in the top 10 percent of their sport nationally, including men's cross country, men's track & field, men's lacrosse, women's volleyball, women's tennis and women's soccer. Five of these teams achieved a perfect multi-year score of 1,000, marking the third straight year that Syracuse has had at least five teams achieve a perfect multi-year score.

"The sustained success is a result of two essential factors," said Syracuse University Assistant Provost Tommy Powell. "One is the emphasis that the athletics administration, coaching staffs and the student-athletes place on high academic achievement. The second is having the complete support of the faculty and the University administration."

The APR score follows individual student and total program progression at each Division I institution, tracking student-athletes by assigning points for each semester they remain eligible and for staying enrolled or graduating. Syracuse's women's soccer team has achieved a perfect multi-year score for the past four years, while it is the second year in a row for men's cross country, men's track & field, women's tennis and women's volleyball.

Syracuse's six teams earning the Public Recognition Award ranks third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, behind Notre Dame (8) and Duke (7) in sports that all schools offer.

In addition to the multi-year average, the NCAA tracks one-year scores for every team. For 2018-19, nine Syracuse teams posted a perfect one-year rate, marking the fourth year in a row Syracuse has had that many teams achieve that milestone. This year's perfect single-year scores come from men's cross country, men's lacrosse, men's track & field women's ice hockey, women's lacrosse, softball, women's soccer, women's tennis, and women's volleyball.

Every Syracuse team surpassed the minimum standard of 930 (a perfect score is 1,000). The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 academic years.

"The APR is a real-time look at the health of an athletics department," Powell said. "It assesses how well schools are keeping the student-athletes eligible and how well they are retaining them at the University. It also has real implications to the postseason. If a team were to drop below the NCAA cut score, that team would not have access to the postseason, bowl games or NCAA Championships."

Syracuse University Athletics

Syracuse Athletics Achieves Sustained Academic Success

Related Videos