Tuesday, May 8, 2007

ACC Fares Well in Three-Year APR Averages

The report cards are out, and overall, the ACC has outperformed the other BCS conferences in academic progress for basketball and football. Information compiled from the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rates indicates that the ACC has the highest average combined APRs in basketball and football. Additionally, five ACC schools, led by Wake Forest, Duke and UNC, were among the top 10 performing schools among BCS conferences.

The APR replaces the graduation rates that were previously used by the NCAA in determining how well student-athletes are progressing academically. As part of the NCAA’s Academic Reform, teams with APR’s of 925 or lower may subject to penalties such as reduced scholarships. Since the current score are only based on three years of data, sports with smaller squads such as basketball have been given a grace period. However, after next year teams like Clemson (894 APR), Maryland (909 APR) and Virginia (919 APR) basketball could be in trouble. In addition to these schools, Virginia Tech’s football team was dangerously close to the penalty-threshold with a 928 APR.

Combined Football and Basketball APR’s of BCS Conferences
.............FB.....BB.....Total
1. ACC_______954.33 946.08 1900.42
2. Big-10____938.64 933.82 1872.45
3. SEC_______943.17 920.83 1864.00
4. PAC 10____933.50 929.40 1862.90
5. Big East__945.25 912.88 1858.13
6. Big-12____931.17 919.67 1850.83

Top Ten Schools among BCS Conferences
.................FB..BB..Tot..Conf
1. Wake__________966 986 1952 ACC
2. Duke__________978 972 1950 ACC
3. UNC___________948 993 1941 ACC
4. Stanford______984 955 1939 PAC-10
5. FSU___________952 980 1932 ACC
6. Vanderbilt____955 974 1929 SEC
7. Northwestern__962 962 1924 Big-10
8. Georgia_______963 959 1922 SEC
9. BC____________976 940 1916 ACC
10.Rutgers_______971 943 1914 Big East


Of course all BCS conferences pale in comparison to the Ivy Leagues combined total of 1974.60. To put things in perspective, Wake Forest’s combined score of 1952 would rank last in the Ivy League.

There are no surprises at the top of the ACC with Wake, Duke and Carolina clearly scoring higher than the rest of the league. A bit surprising are the 7th and 9th rankings for Georgia Tech and Virginia. However, these could be the result of tough academic requirements once in school. State grads often comment on the unusually high percentage of UNC students who graduate in four years, while State students tend to take a bit longer. The running joke was that sure, it's hard to get into Carolina, but once in, anyone can graduate, the opposite could be the case here for Ga Tech and Virginia.

.............FB..BB..Tot..BCS Rank
1. Wake______966 986 1952 1st
2. Duke______978 972 1950 2nd
3. UNC_______948 993 1941 3rd
4. FSU_______952 980 1932 5th
5. BC________976 940 1916 9th
6. Miami_____966 938 1904 16th
7. Ga Tech___959 944 1903 17th
8. NC State__942 947 1889 23rd
9. Virginia__948 917 1865 35th
10.Va Tech___928 934 1862 36th
11.Maryland__944 908 1852 42nd
12.Clemson___945 894 1839 47th


Clemson and Maryland are concerned about possible penalties as indicated in these posts:
Terps Low Graduation Rates Could Cost Scholarships
Low marks threaten scholarships

However, things could be worse. At least they are not part of the BCS Hall of Shame.

......................FB..BB..Tot..Conf
56. Washington State__932 892 1824 PAC-10
57. South Carolina____913 902 1815 SEC
58. Texas A&M_________922 891 1813 Big-12
59. Arizona State_____926 885 1811 PAC-10
60. Kansas State______926 884 1810 Big-12
61. USF_______________910 898 1808 Big East
62. Arizona___________883 924 1807 PAC-10
63. Minnesota_________919 887 1806 Big-10
64. Iowa State________930 852 1782 Big-12
65. Cincinnati________941 838 1779 Big East

2 comments:

Ken White said...

Fantastic article. I think the ACC's relative position is great news. I hope some penalties do start happening. As long as ACC is on top, anything that does take scholarships away from BCS schools and gives to often better performing smaller schools I think is good for both sports.

I have to say I am SHOCKED that FSU is in the top 10. Hard for me to explain that one.

Looking at the bottom 10 BCS, Be interesting to see Herb's impact on Arizona State.

Anonymous said...

Hello,

My name is Serena Hays and I am the College Sports Director for Most Valuable Network (www.mvn.com). Currently we are looking to expand our college site and I was directed here by a fellow writer. Would either of you be interested in covering the ACC for us? Pleae e-mail me at shays@mvn.com for more details if you are interested, or you can contact Kenneth Luu at kluu@mvn.com, he is my assistant and can also answer questions. I look forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,
Serena Hays