All of the Canisius' varsity athletic programs are in good standing, while five teams posted perfect single-year scores according to the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) statistics released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA.
In all, 16 of Canisius' 18 teams scored 980 or better out of a possible 1,000 points. For this data report, the NCAA counts men's and women's indoor and outdoor track as one program.
The latest NCAA APR report is based on scores from the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years.
The five teams to post perfect single-year APR scores for 2015-16 are men's cross country, golf, men's track, men's swimming and diving and rowing. Those five Golden Griffin teams were publicly honored by the NCAA on May 3 for being among the top-10 percent in APR. Additionally, 12 programs posted either identical or better scores from the previous APR release.
The golf team has been honored by the NCAA with an APR Public Recognition Award in each of the last six years, the longest active streak among Canisius athletic teams. The men's cross country team was highlighted by the NCAA for the fifth consecutive year; while the rowing team extended its streak of APR Public Recognition Awards to four straight. The men's swimming and diving program earned its first APR Public Recognition Award. Canisius boasts the only men's swimming and diving program in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) to receive the honor this year. The NCAA also announced that the Canisius men's track program earned its first APR Public Recognition Award.
Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear APR. This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams who demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports. Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top-10 percent of all squads in each sport.
ABOUT ACADEMIC PROGRESS RATES (APR)
The APR provides a real-time metric established by the NCAA to measure the success or failure of college athletic teams in moving student-athletes towards graduation. College athletics programs that fail to achieve an APR score of 930 (four-year average) -- equivalent to a 50 percent graduation rate -- may be penalized with the loss of scholarships and postseason play. APR is calculated by allocating points for eligibility and retention each semester. Sports are graded on a four-year average, while the APR also calculates a single-year average. Only the four-year APR metric can result in NCAA penalties.
