MOBILE, Ala. — Six University of South Alabama women’s sport programs scored 950 or higher, and five men’s programs ranked among the top three in the Sun Belt Conference during the 2010-11 academic year to highlight the school’s NCAA Academic Progress Rates (APR) released by the organization Wednesday.
None of USA’s 16 sport programs — football was not included as an unclassified squad for the reporting cycle — have been penalized for failing to meet the NCAA’s minimum standards over a four-year rolling period.
“The Academic Progress Rate has been, and always will be, a focus of achievement for our department,” stated Dr. Joel Erdmann, the school’s director of athletics. “Although we have a handful of programs that have not yet exceeded the benchmark for the multi-year average, those programs have shown dramatic improvement in their most recent single-year scores. The increase in single-year scores should lead to a continuing climb of our multi-year scores over the next two to three years.
“The improvement that we have experienced is a direct result of the commitment from our head coaches, student-athletes and entire academic services program.”
The softball team posted the highest mark by a women’s program with a 974 score, followed by soccer one point behind. The women’s indoor and outdoor track squads recorded 967 and 964 totals, respectively, with the Lady Jaguar basketball team coming in at 962 and cross country recording a 950 score.
The men’s golf team earned a perfect 1,000 score, the men’s indoor and outdoor track teams stood second in the league after both collected a 983 mark while the men’s tennis squad also ranked second in the SBC after posting a 968 total. The Jaguar men’s basketball team earned a score of 977, which was third in the Sun Belt, well above the 935 average recorded by the 12 schools competing in the sport.
The men’s basketball program’s 2010-11 mark was the highest ever posted by the program, while its multi-year score is tied for the best since the inception of the APR.
“We are proud of our improvements, particularly of the significant increase in the score for our men’s basketball program led by coach [Ronnie] Arrow,” Erdman said.
USA’s 16 programs combined to average a 950 APR score in 2010-11, 20 points above the NCAA’s standard to avoid penalties.
All but one of the school’s women’s programs is above the 930 standard over the current four-year historical period, while the Jag men’s golf squad recorded the highest mark during that span at 986 and the men’s tennis and cross country teams also above that standard.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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