Creighton Has Four Teams Earn APR Public Recognition Awards From NCAA

OMAHA, Neb. -- The NCAA has recognized four Creighton teams for its Academic Progress Rate during the 2016-17 academic year.

Creighton's women's basketball, women's cross country, women's golf and women's tennis teams earned the APR Public Recognition Award in the NCAA's latest rankings released Wednesday. To qualify, teams must rank in the top 10 percent nationally in the APR of their sport.

The APR 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. Teams earning Public Recognition Awards increased to 1,284, up by 79 from the previous academic year, largely as a result of an increase in perfect scores. Of the teams recognized, 457 competed in men's or mixed sports, and 827 competed in women's sports. APRs for programs in the top 10 percent ranged from 985 to a perfect 1,000, and the number of teams posting perfect scores increased to 1,188, marking an increase of 98 teams from last year.

This is the seventh straight honor for Creighton women's tennis, fifth straight for women's basketball, and third in a row for women's cross country. Each of those teams have been recognized nine times overall. The women's golf team was honored for the sixth time, and second straight year.

"I applaud every program earning a Public Recognition Award this year for their commitment to going above and beyond to prepare students for life after college through academic achievement," NCAA President Mark Emmert said. "To have nine national champions so far this year — including men's and women's basketball — be among those recognized illustrates that student-athletes succeed athletically and academically."

Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years. The BIG EAST Conference ranked third with 41.8 percent of its teams earning Public Recognition Awards.

A perfect score (or graduation rate) is represented by 1,000. All teams must meet an academic threshold of 930 to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.

Multiyear APRs for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving public recognition, will be announced May 23rd. That announcement also will include APP penalties for low-performing teams, teams subject to postseason ineligibility and head coach APRs. All teams must meet an academic threshold of 930 to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.

Creighton's student-athletes own a 3.43 cumulative GPA after a earning a 3.46 GPA during the fall 2017 semester, both department records.

Creighton Has Four Teams Earn APR Public Recognition Awards From NCAA

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