WSU posts a clean APR
COUGARS
The NCAA's APR numbers were announced today and Washington State was just fine. We have a short story on the link, so read on.
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• Here's the story. You can find all the numbers you want for WSU here. Just pick Washington State.
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Three years removed from NCAA scholarship penalties, the Washington State Cougars received some good Wednesday on the academic front.
The school's football program, which was docked eight scholarships after a 2006-07 score of 874, received its highest Academic Progress Rates number in five years, posting a 953 in 2008-09, well above the 925 threshold that can trigger penalties.
"I think we're recruiting better students, academically prepared and character-wise," said Ken Casavant, WSU's faculty athletic representative, of WSU improvement in coach Paul Wulff's tenure. "Since Paul's been here, (the rate) is 955."
WSU's four-year average of 918 is still below the 925 mark, thanks in large part to the 2006-07 score. But the school's recent improvement mitigates any penalties.
The basketball program posted a perfect 1000 for 2008-09, and has a four-year average of 957. The women's basketball team scored 917, pulling its four-year score down to 933. Football was the only WSU sport with a rolling average under the 925 threshold and four teams posted perfect scores.
The NCAA instituted the APR in 2005 as part of its academic reform movement. The number calculates how well a school is moving athletes toward graduation. The 925 number translates to a 50 percent graduation rate.
Teams with a four-year average score below 925 and a have a student leave school academically ineligible can be docked up to 10 percent of their scholarships. Teams also face penalties for poor academic numbers over a long period.
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• If you click here you will see all the schools that were assessed penalties this year. The only Northwest schools were: Idaho in football, Idaho State in football, Montana State in football, Weber State in football and Portland State in men's basketball, men's cross country and football. The PSU basketball numbers were so bad, it lost scholarships, practice time and has been banned from the postseason. ... By the way, Jeremiah Masoli was kicked off the Oregon football team today after getting cited recently by the Springfield, Ore., police.
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• That's all for now. We'll be back as events warrant. Until then ...
