UNC outperforms new NCAA Academic Progress Rate standards

The NCAA introduced a new rule earlier this month that raised the Academic Progress Rate benchmark from 900 to 930, and teams that fail to reach that standard could face consequences.

Under the new rule, a four-year rolling score below 930 would result in a postseason ban for Division I teams.

But UNC athletic director Dick Baddour isn’t sweating the NCAA’s increased academic expectations.

“It won’t (affect UNC),” Baddour said. “Not if we continue to perform like we have been. Academic support will always be our number one priority.”

The new standard is a product of a two-day presidential retreat at which Division I board directors focused on improving the academics, fiscal responsibility and integrity of intercollegiate athletics.

Since the NCAA began penalizing teams for low APR scores in 2005, the UNC football team’s multi-year APR scores haven’t fallen below 943, and the Tar Heels’ scores for 2008-09 and 2009-10 have been the highest at 957 and 955, respectively.

In basketball, the Tar Heels have performed significantly better, posting multi-year APR scores between 985 and 995 since 2005.

A Division I football program is allowed 85 scholarships to help complete its roster. Each of the 85 student-athletes contributes two points toward an APR score, one retention point for staying in school and one eligibility point for remaining academically eligible.

For example, if four scholarship football players dropped out because they were academically ineligible and three remained in school but didn’t meet the minimum 2.0, that would be a total of 159 out of 170 points, or a ratio of .935.

That, multiplied by 1000, would give the school an APR score of 935 for that year.

UNC has met that standard consistently and the University’s academic assistance task force doesn’t expect that to change.

“What (the NCAA is) doing is they’re kicking the schools that are lagging behind, and we are definitely not in that group,” said Steve Reznick, chairman of the faculty athletics committee.

And since 2005, UNC football hasn’t even been close to being a part of that group. Based on 2009-10 APR scores, Louisville and Maryland were among 17 Division I football programs that were issued scholarship-reduction penalties due to low scores. And with the increased standard, more teams could be affected by those penalties in the future.

“I’m not just going to be complacent just because we’re meeting that standard,” Reznick said. “I’m going to assume that obviously we’re going to meet that standard. I want us to not just get a C. I want us to get an A or a B .”

Reznick said UNC has no clear-cut benchmark beyond the NCAA’s, just a set of goals unique to each individual so they can receive a quality education. Those goals include ensuring that student athletes have strong academic support and both extracurricular and classroom opportunities.

“What we’re going to be continuing to do is what we need to do to enhance the educational experience of our student athletes,” Reznick said.

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