May 6, 2008

DeKALB, Ill. -- All 17 Northern Illinois sports programs have exceeded the NCAA's academic standards for 2008 as measured by the Academic Progress Rate (APR), according to the report released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Every NIU team achieved a score of 930 or above in the 2006-07 APR report, which also recognized the Huskie women's golf team for achieving a perfect mark of 1,000 and ranking in the top 10 percent of all women's golf squads in the country. Coach Pam Tyska's squad maintained a perfect APR for the fourth straight year.

The APR is a ranking developed by the NCAA to measure the academic performance of individual teams on a real-time basis by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. Introduced four years ago and based on eligibility, graduation and retention, the Academic Progress Rate is now the primary tool used by the NCAA to judge academic progress.

Teams are awarded two points each term for each student-athlete who meets academic eligibility standards and who remains with the institution. A team's APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time, divided by the total points possible and multiplied by 1,000. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors set cut scores of 925 and 900 as a threshold for teams to meet or face possible immediate and historical sanctions, which include loss of scholarships and loss of practice time.

"Today's report shows that across the board, our programs are in great shape," said NIU Interim Director of Athletics Robert Collins. "The APR goes hand-in-hand with the five consecutive 3.0 semesters that our student-athletes have posted and is borne out by the number of student-athletes who graduate from NIU each year.

"As a university and as an athletic department, this is another indication that we are doing everything we can to support our student-athletes as they pursue the goal of earning an NIU degree," he added.

The most recent APR scores are based on a multi-year rate that averages scores from the past four academic years. In addition to women's golf, the Huskie gymnastics and women's basketball also ranked in the top third of all teams in their respective sports as gymnastics checked in with an APR of 995 and women's basketball earned a 984.

Eleven Northern Illinois teams raised their APR number from a year ago, led by baseball, which came in at 942, and football, with its score of 930. Men's tennis (965), women's cross country (952) and wrestling (950) also saw double-digit increases in its APR this year. Overall, 15 NIU programs achieved an APR of 940 or above and 12 of those checked in at 950 or higher.

"I am proud of our academic support staff, our coaches and our student-athletes," Collins said. "Results like this take a team effort. We know that success in the classroom is an ongoing process, and we will continue to be on our toes to make sure that Northern Illinois continues to shine brightly in the area of academic performance."

Complete information on this year's APR report, including each team's individual score, is available online at www.ncaa.org.

-- NIU --