Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State APR Scores Continue to Improve
5/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
May 6, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - The athletics programs at Fresno State continue to make steady academic progress. The latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released by the NCAA today reflected scores on the Fresno State campus continue to rise.
In all Fresno State saw improvements or equal scores in 12 of 15 sports over a two-year period. Three sports (equestrian, women's swimming/diving and lacrosse) did not appear in this year's report. The men's cross country team does not yet have a 4-year rate.
Making the greatest stride was the men's basketball team with a score of 891, up over 100 points (787) from two years ago. This is significant because it also marks the first year the men's basketball program will not be subject to NCAA APR scholarship sanctions.
Over a twelve month span, 10 Bulldog men's basketball players will have earned their degrees when four more 'Dogs participate in Commencement ceremonies this May. This marks the first time in school history that ten Bulldogs graduated in a similar span of time.
"We are very happy with the progress our sports programs are making," said Dr. Susan Gutkind, Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services. "We're seeing much more academically driven team culture throughout our sports as more student-athletes actively seeking our services with the ultimate goal of graduating in four years. This has been a systematic approach involving all aspects of the department as well as campus to promote academic success. The results are that our student-athletes are graduating and our APR scores are improving. It all works together from the recruitment of prospects, to monitoring during the term, to providing strong services to meet the needs of the student-athletes."
Others making the largest improvements were: baseball (53 points), softball (28 points), women's outdoor track (27 points), women's indoor track (24 points), women's tennis (23 points) and women's basketball (12 points).
The Bulldog football program continues to perform well in the APR scoring, up three points over two years ago to a 948 and well ahead of the national average for public schools (931).
Of the three sports that had slight declines, all met the NCAA minimum score of 925.
Only one sport, men's tennis, is subject to a penalty. The tennis program will lose 45% of one scholarship despite a significant increase over a two-year period from 856 to 912.
Fresno State APR Multiyear Rates by Sport
Baseball, 924
Men's Basketball, 891
Men's Cross Country, 950
Football, 948
Men's Golf, 925
Men's Tennis, 912
Men's Outdoor Track, 926
Women's Basketball, 944
Women's Cross Country, 951
Women's Golf, 986
Soccer, 977
Softball, 928
Women's Tennis, 976
Women's Indoor Track, 937
Women's Outdoor Track, 935
Volleyball, 962
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