Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Five UNCW programs have received Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA for placing among the top 10 percent nationally in the classroom, marking the largest number of Seahawk teams honored since the first year of the program in 2004-05.
 
The NCAA recognized more than 1,000 Division I teams Wednesday with Public Recognition Awards for their latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores. The teams recorded multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.
 
The 1,071 teams publicly recognized for high achievement include 649 women's teams and 422 men's or mixed squads. This year, schools combined the indoor and outdoor track and field teams into one team score, which slightly reduced the overall number of teams earning Public Recognition Awards.
 
The scores required to be in the top 10 ranged from 983 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport. Earning a perfect APR score were 944 teams.
 
The APR is a yearly measure of eligibility and retention for student-athletes competing on every NCAA Division I sports team. The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance.
 
Wednesday's APR scores are based on a multi-year rate that includes scores from the 2011-12 and 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years.
 
This year's five awards raise UNCW's total to 25 since the program started in 2004-05. The baseball and women's tennis teams have won the award for four straight years – the longest running streaks for the Seahawks – and are joined by men's basketball with the most (5) awards for a single program.

Visit uncwsports.com to read the full story.