William and Mary Fourth in APR Rankings

Tribe First Among Scholarship and Aid Giving Programs

03/03/05 4:01PM

WILLIAMSBURG, VA - The NCAA has recently released its inaugural Academic Progress Rate scores for all Division I institutions, and William and Mary has once again excelled in its mission of fostering true student-athletes. The College boasts the fourth-best APR score (992) among 328 active and provisional institutions, and W&M leads all programs that offer performance-based grants and financial aid to scholar-athletes.

“We endeavor always to succeed at the highest levels in terms of academics and athletics,” said Tribe Director of Athletics Terry Driscoll. “The latest release by the NCAA is yet another confirmation of the extraordinary efforts and achievements of our coaches and student-athletes.”

The Academic Progress Rate is a new measurement of academic progress based on academic eligibility, retention, and graduation of student-athletes. A rate of 925, out of a highest possible score of 1000, equates to an approximate graduation rate of 50 percent and will be used as the threshold for future program evaluations. The average APR of all Division I institutions was 948.

Only three schools ranked ahead of William and Mary, and all were members of the non-scholarship Ivy League: Yale University (999), Princeton University (994), and the University of Pennsylvania (993). As well as being the highest-ranking school among all institutions giving student-athlete scholarships, the College was the highest-ranking public school in the nation. W&M also tops both the state of Virginia and the 10-member Colonial Athletic Association in the APR rankings.

Thirteen Tribe sports programs achieved the best possible rate of 1000, including women’s volleyball, gymnastics, basketball, outdoor track and field, golf, tennis and field hockey, and men’s soccer, basketball, outdoor track and field, golf, tennis, and baseball.