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BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Twenty-six (26) Ohio Valley Conference teams were among those who received public recognition awards for top academic performance from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Wednesday.
This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that 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.
In total, nine different OVC member institutions earned at least one award, up from eight a year ago. The 26 team awards are up from 15 a year ago.
The 26 teams honored included six from Belmont (baseball, men's basketball, men's golf, women's golf, softball and women's track & field), five from SIUE (baseball, men's cross country, men's golf, women's golf and women's tennis), four from Eastern Illinois (men's cross country, women's cross country, men's tennis and women's tennis), three from Austin Peay (women's cross country, women's golf and volleyball), two apiece from Eastern Kentucky (women's golf and volleyball), Morehead State (women's golf and volleyball) and Southeast Missouri (women's cross country and volleyball) and one each from Jacksonville State (women's tennis) and Murray State (rifle).
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. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance.
The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in each sport. The APR awards two points each term to student-athletes who meet academic eligibility standards and who remain with the institution. A team's APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible, multiplied by 1,000. It includes four years (this year's numbers included the school years of 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 and 2014-15). High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards posted APR scores ranging from 983 to a perfect 1,000.
This year 1,071 teams (649 women's teams, 422 men's or mixed teams) were publicly recognized for high academic achievement. This year schools combined indoor and outdoor track and field teams into one team score, which slightly reduced the overall number of teams earning awards. In all, 290 Division I institutions placed at least one team on the list.
Multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams will be announced on April 20.
Specific OVC Member Institution Notes
• Austin Peay's women's golf was recognized for the fourth-consecutive year, while its volleyball team earned its second-straight award and the women's cross country program was a first-time recipient.
• The Belmont men's basketball team is one of just three programs nationally since the Public Recognition Awards inception in 2006 to earn the award each year (they are joined by Davidson and Holy Cross). In addition Belmont is one of just 46 universities nationally to earn at least one Public Recognition Award in each of the past 11 years.
• Eastern Illinois had multiple programs recognized for the eighth-consecutive year.
• The Eastern Kentucky volleyball team earned its third-straight Public Recognition Award.
• The Jacksonville State women's tennis team was honored for the fifth-consecutive year.
• The Morehead State volleyball program earned a Public Recognition Award for the fifth-consecutive year.
• The Murray State rifle team was honored for the first time this year. They were one of just eight rifle teams honored nationally this year.
• The Southeast Missouri gymnastics team (which does not compete in the OVC) was also honored giving the university three honored programs this year. It marks the first time Southeast Missouri had multiple honorees in the same year since 2010-11.
• SIUE tied with the University of Illinois for the most Public Recognition Award of any institution in the state of Illinois.