Alabama APR scores remain strong for 2017-18

Several Alabama athletics programs continued to post strong Academic Progress Rate scores compared to other Division I schools, according to NCAA data.

Of Alabama’s 19 athletics teams, 13 posted a higher APR score than the average among athletic departments in the Football Bowl Subdivision in their specific sport. Scores for Alabama’s teams were mixed following several years of improvement: six programs improved their score, five were flat and eight programs saw their scores decline.

“Our mission at The University of Alabama is to provide a first-rate education that serves as a strong foundation for the future,” UA director of athletics Greg Byrne said a news release release. “Our latest NCAA APR numbers are a testimony to the importance and focus that everyone – our student-athletes, faculty, coaches and staff – puts on that mission.”

The Academic Progress Rate measures the eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team. The most recent APR scores reflected a rolling four-year average from the 2014-15 school year through the 2017-18 school year.

The APR also serves as a predictor of graduation success. The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors set a score of 930 (out of 1,000) as a threshold for teams to meet or face possible immediate and historical sanctions. An APR of 930 translates to approximately a 50 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR).

“Our APR numbers continue demonstrate The University of Alabama’s commitment to doing things the right way,” said Jon Dever, UA’s senior associate athletics director for student services in the release.

The football team posted a four-year average of 984, second among SEC schools after Vanderbilt. Football posted a perfect 1,000 score for 2017-18. The football program’s APR score has improved or remained steady every year since 2012-13.

Men’s basketball also had a perfect score of 1,000 for 2017-18 to bring its four-year average to 995, tied for second in the SEC. Men’s basketball had the most improvement of any school in the athletic department, increasing its four-year average by 10 points.

Four sports posted a perfect 1,000 for the four-year period: women’s golf, gymnastics, softball and volleyball. Women’s rowing, women’s tennis and soccer scored a 1,000 for 2017-18.

The men’s cross country team’s four-year average fell from a perfect 1,000 to 967 after posting a one-year score of 893. That was the lowest one-year score among Alabama’s 19 athletic teams and the biggest dropoff of any team.

Rowing was first in the Big 12 with a four-year average of 997. Men’s swim and dive was second in the SEC with a four-year average of 996. Baseball finished tied for third in the conference with a four-year average of 985.

Men’s golf, men’s tennis and men’s track finished last among their peers in the SEC.