Subscribe now

Washington State programs stay clear of penalties as NCAA releases Academic Progress Rate data

The American Flag catches the setting sun as photographed from the entrance to Martin Stadium before the start of a college football game on Friday, September 29, 2017, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash Tyler Tjomsland/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

PULLMAN – Athletic programs at Washington State had no reason to sweat Wednesday when the NCAA released its Academic Progress Rate (APR) data from the 2016-17 school year.

All 15 school-sanctioned teams stayed well clear of NCAA penalties, posting multi-year scores better than 960. Eight sports registered scores better than 980 and women’s golf, as reported last week, kept a perfect score of 1,000 and earned the APR Public Recognition Award.

The APR is a team-based model that uses eligibility and retention of each student-athlete in order to track academic success. Athletic programs can incur penalties if they don’t maintain a four-year rolling average of at least 930.

“This is a tremendous achievement by our student-athletes, coaches and entire staff,” said WSU Director of Athletics Pat Chun. “Our programs continue to strive for athletic and academic excellence, with this recent report a great reflection of their efforts.”

No WSU team fell even close to that threshold, with the women’s cross country team posting the lowest four-year score, at 962. The rest of WSU’s athletic programs recorded the following scores: men’s track (965), men’s basketball (967), football (969), women’s tennis (969), men’s cross country (973), baseball (977), women’s swimming and diving (984), women’s soccer (985), men’s golf (986), women’s basketball (986), women’s track (987), women’s rowing (988), women’s volleyball (989) and women’s golf (1,000).

Football’s score was the highest in program story and reflects the steady academic growth made under seventh-year coach Mike Leach. All six of Leach’s teams have either set or tied the highest APR scores in program history and the single-year APR for 2016-17 (978) also marked a program-best.

Wednesday’s data indicates steady improvement for a handful of WSU programs. Six of them increased scores from last year – most notably women’s tennis, which improved by 15 points, and men’s basketball, which saw a 14-point increase. Baseball (+5), men’s cross country (+5), football (+4) and women’s soccer (+3) also bumped their scores.