UB Athletics Continues To Trend Upwards in APR

Women’s swimming continues perfect score; 15 of 20 programs climb in NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate

BUFFALO, NY – With the release today of the NCAA’s mandated Academic Progress Rate, the University at Buffalo athletic programs continue to move in a positive direction while enjoying the most successful two-year run of athletic success in its Division I history. The APR, in its fifth year, measures the retention and eligibility of student-athletes receiving athletic aid, and the eligibility measure is based on NCAA and UB eligibility standards.

The APR uses a four-year rolling rate, encompassing the years 2004-05, ‘05-06, ‘06-07 and ‘07-08. UB had only two teams out of its 20 sports fall below the 925 (out of 1000) cut score, but more impressively had eight teams – men’s basketball, men’s swimming, men’s outdoor track, women’s cross country, women’s rowing, women’s swimming, women’s tennis and volleyball – achieve a perfect 1,000 score in 2007-08 – while women’s swimming has never lost a point in the history of APR, and was publicly recognized by the NCAA as a top performer nationally.

Fifteen of the Bulls’ 20 programs showed improvement from 2006-07 through 2007-08 and the five teams that did not increase all registered scores of 959 or higher. In total, 10 of UB’s 20 intercollegiate programs have a multi-year rate of 970 or above, up from six last year. Those programs are: men’s basketball (975), men’s tennis (985), men’s outdoor track (980), women’s basketball (971), women’s cross country (1000), women’s rowing (974), women’s swimming (1000), women’s softball (981), women’s soccer (981) and women’s volleyball (973).

The two sports that fell below the 925 cut score have made marked improvements. Football’s four-year rate is 908, its rate for 2007-08 was a 921, the best in the APR era. Football absorbed its one scholarship penalty within its 2008-09 scholarship limits and has no penalty carrying forward to 2009-10, the first time that has occurred since APR was introduced. In addition, the football team also registered their highest grade point average in the fall of 2008 since moving up to Division I-A competition in 1999.

Wrestling, meanwhile, had a single-year rate of 972 and has raised its four-year rate to 923 and was not given any penalty due to significant gains over the past three years. Baseball, meanwhile, reached the 925 cut score for the first time, with a single-year rate of 950 and a four-year rate of 925.

“Over the past few years, we have seen tremendous improvement across all of our athletic programs as it relates to APR,” said Warde Manuel, UB’s Director of Athletics. “Over that same period of time, UB teams have claimed an outright or share of a championship on six occasions. What that tells me is that the idea that you cannot have success on the field while having success in the classroom is a fallacy. If anything what it proves is that those student-athletes focused on competing in the classroom are far more likely to compete successfully on the fields of play.”

“I’d again like to commend our coaching staff for driving our message home every day with our student-athletes, and the student-athletes themselves for balancing a tremendous amount of expectation in both the classroom and fields of play,” said Manuel. “Lastly, I would extend my appreciation to the support we continue to receive from the University’s Administration, starting with President John Simpson. Without their support we would not have been allowed to make some of the strategic changes we have implemented in the areas of academic support.”