May 24, 2011

Northwestern's 2009-10 APR Data Public Report (PDF Format)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern has put together another of its patented impressive performances in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) program according to the most recent data released today (Tuesday, May 24) by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Northwestern football's multi-year APR of 993 leads all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions and ranks second nationally among all Division I programs behind Penn (995). The 993 is the Wildcats' best multi-year APR score, up from 986 last season. The average cumulative multi-year APR for the Football Bowl Subdivision is 949 according to the latest data.

Nine Northwestern varsity programs, including football, were honored last week by the NCAA with public recognition awards for being in the top-10 percent of their respective sports with their latest multi-year APR scores, giving NU the best percentage of honored programs in the Big Ten for the second-straight year. Forty-seven percent of Northwestern's varsity programs were publicly recognized; the next highest in the Big Ten was Penn State with 31 percent.

"After nine of our programs earned national recognition from the APR program last week, this week's complete report paints an even better overall picture of how well our student-athletes are performing in the classroom," Northwestern Director of Athletics and Recreation Jim Phillips said. "Time and time again our young men and women demonstrate that Northwestern is a leader both on the field and in the classroom. Credit goes also to our tremendous coaches, who recruit quality young people into our institution."

Northwestern has been able to achieve its academic success while also competing at the highest level athletically; despite fielding a smaller number of varsity athletics programs than most BCS schools, Northwestern placed more than half of its varsity programs (11 out of 19) in postseason play in 2009-10, including football which has made three straight bowl appearances.

Every Division I sports team calculates its APR each academic year, based on the eligibility, retention and graduation of each scholarship student-athlete. The score also serves as a predictor of graduation success. All information in the latest report is for the past four academic years (2006-10). Teams that score below 925 face varying degrees of penalties.

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