Clemson Football Program Lauded for APR Score Second Straight Year

June 14, 2012

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson football and golf programs were both honored Thursday when the NCAA released its Academic Performance Public Recognition Awards. Both Clemson programs rank among the top 10 percent of all programs nationally in terms of APR scores (Academic Progress Rate).

It is the second time both programs have been ranked among the top 10 percent in the nation. It is the second consecutive year for Dabo Swinney’s football team, while Larry Penley’s golf team was also honored in 2004-05.

Fourteen football programs were honored by the NCAA on Thursday. The list included ACC schools Clemson, Duke and Miami (FL). The ACC was the only conference with three schools on the football list. The other institutions honored for football APR scores were Boise State, Middle Tennessee, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Rice, Rutgers, Stanford, Ohio State, Air Force, Navy and Vanderbilt.

Clemson and Northern Illinois were the only schools in the nation to win their conference championship and rank in the top 10 percent in the nation in terms of APR scores this year. Clemson, Stanford and Boise State were the only schools to rank in the final AP top 25 and in the top 10 percent in terms of APR scores.

“I want to thank Becky Bowman, Wayne Coffman, Reggie Simpkins and Yashica Martin who work closely with our student-athletes when it comes to academics,” said Head Coach Dabo Swinney. “One of he things we talk about with our players is developing to the best of their abilities in every area. We have had consistency when it comes to graduation rate and academic progress. It reflects on the team’s overall commitment.

The Clemson golf program also ranked in the final top 25 on the course in the Sagarin computer poll and in the top 10 percent of the APR scores nationally, one of six schools who could make that claim. The Clemson program had an outstanding year in the classroom, including the spring of 2012 when the team had an all-time high 3.23 grade point average. On the course the Tigers won two tournaments and made the NCAA Tournament for the 31st straight year.

The Academic Progress Rate is a Division I metric developed to track the academic achievement of teams each academic term. Each student-athlete receiving athletically related financial aid earns one retention point for staying in school and one eligibility point for being academically eligible. A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by one thousand to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate score.

The scores include APR scores for he 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.

A total of 58 ACC programs were honored on Thursday by the NCAA. The ACC was the only conference with at least one program honored in all 12 schools.