INDIANAPOLIS – Seven perfect scores and 12 of 15 programs in the upper half of the Sun Belt Conference highlight the University of South Alabama Department of Athletics performance in the 2015-16 Academic Progress Rate report, which was released by the NCAA Wednesday.

Sport programs that received a perfect mark last year include men's basketball, softball, women's cross country, golf and tennis, and men's cross country and golf.  In addition, the Jaguar baseball and men's and women's track and field teams had a score above 990 following the '15-16 campaign.

Last week, the NCAA honored USA's men's and women's cross country teams — both with four-year scores of 1,000 — and the women's track and field squad with Public Recognition Awards for ranking among the top 10 percent of their sport in the organization's multi-year rates.  All 15 Jag sport programs have a multi-year mark above 950, well above the academic threshold of 930 to qualify for the postseason and avoid penalties for continued low academic performance.

The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement that 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 most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years.

During the '15-16 season, Jaguar Athletics claimed its second straight Vic Bubas Cup — presented to the Sun Belt school with the best all-around performance in competition — with 127 points, the program's highest figure since the 2001-02 campaign.  The Jags won league titles in baseball, soccer, women's cross country and women's outdoor track and field, finishing in the top half of the conference standings in 15 of 17 sports.  In all, 78 student-athletes earned all-SBC recognition, nine were chosen all-region, six garnered All-America accolades while a pair were voted Academic All-America.

"This highlights once again our department and university-wide commitment to academic success.  Results like this don't happen overnight or in a vacuum, it takes a lot of hard work from a lot of people," said Daniel McCarthy, USA Associate Athletic Director for Internal Affairs.  "We congratulate our student-athletes for their relentless pursuit of excellence in the classroom, and we commend our coaches and academic services staff members for their tireless support.

"For the past few years, we have measured our success in this area by pointing to our improvement.  We've now reached a point where we can look beyond our improvement and take greater pride in our consistency.  It's a great day to be a Jaguar!"

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/priorityfund

—USA—