Eastern Washington teams get high academic marks from NCAA

With women’s basketball and women’s tennis leading the way, Eastern Washington has earned high grades from the NCAA.

Both sports posted perfect multiyear scores of 1,000, according to the NCAA’s annual Academic Progress Rate released Wednesday.

The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or academic term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in every sport.

The perfect score is the fifth straight for women’s basketball.

“We are very proud of the academic commitment that both of these programs have achieved,” EWU athletic director Lynn Hickey said.

“We congratulate both teams and their coaches for their dedication and efforts to being the best they can be in the classroom and for setting a high standard for their peers,” Hickey said.

Soccer, volleyball and the men’s and women’s cross country teams also posted perfect scores during 2016-17.

Football improved its multiyear score from 955 to 961 (ranking fifth out of 13 schools in the Big Sky Conference), while men’s basketball went from 983 to 985 (second behind a perfect score posted by Sacramento State).

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.

All teams must meet an academic threshold of 930 (multi-year) to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.