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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kent’s efforts keep WSU from APR penalties

The first thing Ernie Kent did when he and his staff arrived at Washington State wasn’t call recruits or install his scheme. Instead, he made sure the departing players that he would never coach – D.J. Shelton, James Hunter, Royce Woolridge, Will Dilorio – got their degrees and that the remaining players were in good academic standing.

The academic emphasis paid off for Kent today, as the Cougars narrowly avoided penalties in the NCAA’s just-released Academic Progress Rate (APR). The NCAA gives each team a yearly APR score out of 1,000 that measures its academic performance and retention. If a team’s average score over a four-year period dips below 930 it faces penalties, including potential postseason ineligibility.

The reason for Kent’s urgency? A score of 900 in 2010-11 that, paired with a 926 last season, seemed almost certain to result in some sort of academic punishment for the WSU men’s basketball team. In fact, because basketball has so few scholarships even one player leaving in poor academic standing could have torpedoed the Cougars below the 930 threshold.

Instead, the Cougars posted a 963 for 2013-14, keeping their four-year average rolling at 938. Next year that 900 score will no longer be included in the multiyear average, meaning the Cougars would have to post an especially bad score to face any sort of sanctions.

But not every area team fared so well. The Idaho men’s golf team posted a multiyear APR of 926, despite a perfect score for the 2013-14 year. In addition to the loss of postseason eligibility, the team faces practice reductions.

The Vandal football team’s four-year score of 896 is the worst among all FBS football programs, but will not be penalized because of improvement shown under coach Paul Petrino.

No other local teams appear to be in danger of sanctions and a few even posted perfect multiyear averages. These include the WSU women’s basketball team; the Eastern Washington women’s basketball, women’s cross country and women’s golf teams; and the Idaho women’s golf team.

At Gonzaga, it would almost be easier to list the teams that haven’t been perfect for four consecutive years. The Bulldogs teams with multiyear scores of 1,000 include: men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track, plus volleyball.

The GU athletic department had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.31 and 124 athletes made the Dean’s or President’s list this semester, which require GPAs exceeding 3.5 and 3.7, respectively.