FAYETTEVILLE — All of Arkansas' athletic programs exceeded the multi-year benchmark score of 930 and are in good standing in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate for 2017-18, according to data released Wednesday.
Six Arkansas women’s programs - softball, cross country, gymnastics, tennis, golf and volleyball - recorded perfect multi-year and single-year scores of 1,000 in the latest report. Two other programs - soccer and men’s tennis - had perfect single-year scores during the last academic year.
The latest multi-year scores are for athletes who enrolled at the University of Arkansas between the 2014-15 and 2017-18 academic years. The NCAA reports are for one- and four-year periods and do not reflect the current academic year.
In APR, each athlete receiving athletic-related financial aid earns one point for staying in school and one point for being academically eligible each semester, for a total of four possible points per athlete, per year. A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by 1,000 to equal the team’s APR score.
Scores can be negatively affected by athletes who drop out or transfer and are not in good academic standing.
Programs are not penalized for athletes who opt to pursue a professional career, so long as they are in good academic standing when they are enrolled in classes. Transfers who leave with a 2.6 GPA and are enrolled at another four-year university by the following semester do not hurt the APR score.
Arkansas’ men’s basketball team fell below the NCAA single-year benchmark with a score of 918, but has a healthy multi-year score of 964 in 2017-18. The program had perfect single-year scores in the two previous reporting periods under former coach Mike Anderson.
Nevada basketball had a multi-year score of 955 and single-year score of 882 in the latest reporting period. The single-year score and the majority of the multi-year score came during the tenure of Eric Musselman, who spent four seasons at Nevada before he was hired as Arkansas' basketball coach last month.
Nevada has perfect single-year scores in Musselman's first two years on the job.
The Razorbacks’ football team recored a single-year score of 985 in the latest reporting period, just shy of its record 988 the year before. The football program has a multi-year score of 982, which is tied with Auburn for the third highest in the Southeastern Conference.
The football multi-year score reflects the final three full years under former coach Bret Bielema, and the school year in which the program was led by both Bielema and current coach Chad Morris.
Morris' former school, SMU, has a multi-year score of 967, which encompasses all of Morris' three seasons with the program, plus partial academic years under other head coaches.
Arkansas’ baseball team had a single-year score of 971 and a multi-year score of 962 in the latest reporting period. Both scores are up from last year's report in which the program had a single-year 957 and multi-year 954.
The Razorbacks’ women’s basketball team also bounced back from a low single-year score of 909 in last year’s report to a 950 single-year score in the latest report. The 2017-18 term was the first full year under current coach Mike Neighbors.
Arkansas' women’s basketball team has a healthy multi-year score of 966, which includes years led by Neighbors and former coach Jimmy Dykes.
Neighbors' former program, Washington, had a multi-year score of 984 in the latest report, which encompasses the majority of his final three years at the school.
Arkansas’ men’s cross country team had a decline in its single-year score, from 1,000 to 958 in the latest reporting period. The program has a multi-year score of 956.
Men’s track, which uses some of the same athletes as cross country, had a single-year score of 982 and multi-year of 968.
Women's track had a single-year score of 971 - up from 944 - and a multi-year score of 969.
APR is one of two calculations - the Graduation Success Rate released each fall is the other - the NCAA uses to monitor the overall academic performance by athletes at each school. Consecutive multi-year scores below NCAA benchmarks can result in penalties, such as reduction in scholarships or postseason bans.
Arkansas 2017-18 APR Scores (Multi-Year/Single-Year)
Baseball 962/971
Football 982/985
Men’s Basketball 964/918
Men’s Cross Country 956/958
Men’s Golf 978/971
Men’s Tennis 993/1000
Men’s Track 968/982
Softball 1000/1000
Women’s Basketball 966/950
Women’s Cross Country 1000/1000
Women’s Golf 1000/1000
Gymnastics 1000/1000
Soccer 982/1000
Swimming & Diving 995/1000
Women’s Tennis 1000/1000
Women’s Track 969/971
Volleyball 1000/1000
SEC Football APR Scores (Multi-Year/Single-Year)
Alabama 984/1000
Arkansas 982/985
Auburn 982/993
Florida 975/970
Georgia 963/976
Kentucky 969/973
LSU 951/937
Ole Miss 978/986
Mississippi State 976/974
Missouri 972/969
South Carolina 967/979
Tennessee 970/963
Texas A&M 967/967
Vanderbilt 991/978
SEC Men's Basketball APR Scores (Multi-Year/Single-Year)
Alabama 995/1000
Arkansas 964/918
Auburn 995/1000
Florida 995/1000
Georgia 995/980
Kentucky 1000/1000
LSU 956/951
Ole Miss 995/1000
Mississippi State 974/980
Missouri 953/953
South Carolina 970/1000
Tennessee 965/981
Texas A&M 968/891
Vanderbilt 995/1000
SEC Baseball APR Scores (Multi-Year/Single-Year)
Alabama 985/979
Arkansas 962/971
Auburn 968/990
Florida 970/967
Georgia 988/990
Kentucky 979/968
LSU 965/946
Ole Miss 975/981
Mississippi State 961/951
Missouri 959/968
South Carolina 985/959
Tennessee 981/978
Texas A&M 966/943
Vanderbilt 988/1000