UVA Athletics had seven teams earn Public Recognition for academic excellence after scoring in the top 10 percent of their most recent NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rates (APR), the NCAA national office announced on Wednesday.
UVA’s men’s golf team, women’s basketball, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, women’s track and field, women’s swimming and diving and volleyball teams were among more than 1,300 teams nationally to earn the awards based on their most recent multi-year APRs, which include the 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years.
Virginia’s seven teams ties for the second-most in school history to be recognized since the Public Recognition inception in 2004-05, trailing the eight sports programs recognized in 2014-15. Women’s golf leads the way at UVA, earning the distinction 10 times. Volleyball has been recognized nine times, while this is the eighth recognition for women’s track, sixth for men’s golf, fourth for women’s basketball, third for women’s lacrosse and second for women’s swimming and diving.
Largely as a result of an increase in perfect scores, teams earning Public Recognition Awards increased to 1,328, up by 44 from the previous academic year. APRs for programs in the top 10% ranged from 987 to a perfect 1,000, and the number of teams posting perfect scores increased to 1,214, marking an increase of 26 teams from last year.
Of the teams recognized, 471 competed in men’s or mixed sports, and 857 competed in women’s sports.
The Atlantic Coast Conference ranks second nationally in total number of teams earning Public Recognition with 95. Only the Ivy League, with 105 team recognitions, had more.
“Congratulations to our student-athletes as well as our coaches and staff involved with helping them reach their academic goals,” said Virginia director of athletics Carla Williams. “We are proud of these sports programs for their academic excellence and we are looking forward to continued growth.”
APR scores for all NCAA Division I teams will be released May 8. The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or academic term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in every sport. All teams must meet an academic threshold of a multi-year score of 930 to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.
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Chris Graham
