28 Horizon League Teams Earn NCAA APR Recognition

INDIANAPOLIS – Twenty-eight Horizon League teams have been honored by the NCAA for academic excellence. These teams posted multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport, culminating in the 2011-12 academic year.

Among current members, Valparaiso University led the way with six squads recognized. Loyola had five and Green  Bay and Cleveland State three each.

Among specific sports, women’s cross country was the leader with five Horizon League teams being recognized.

Former Horizon League member Butler, which departed after the 2011-12 academic year, had seven squads honored.

“The collective academic excellence of these teams is a testament to the student-athletes, their coaches and their universities,” said Horizon League Commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone. “They represent the best of what we try to do.”

Both Cleveland State and Detroit are among the 62 schools to have received the Public Recognition Award in each of the last eight years.

Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I. The announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship.  The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance.

2011-12 Horizon League APR Honorees