Five MSU Programs Recognized by NCAA
NCAA Release
 
INDIANAPOLIS - Five Missouri State athletic teams have received special public recognition from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for excellence in its multi-year Academic Progress Report (APR), the NCAA announced Wednesday (May 16).
 
MSU's men's golf, men's swimming and diving, softball, women's tennis and volleyball programs have all reached APR public recognition status by accumulating multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all teams at the Division I level.
 
Each year, the NCAA honors selected NCAA Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multi-year NCAA Division I APR. This 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.
 
"Missouri State Athletics continues to strive for excellence on the playing field and in the classroom," said Director of Athletics Kyle Moats. "To have five programs recognized nationally is a testament to the commitment our coaches, student-athletes and academic staff have made to academic success."  
 
All five programs received NCAA public recognition awards last year as well. Prior to that, Missouri State had received public recognition awards from the NCAA just four times previously: men's soccer in 2014-15, women's volleyball in 2005-06 and 2008-09, and men's tennis in 2004-05.
 
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.
 
A total of 1,284 Division I teams -- up by 79 from the previous academic year – earned public recognition awards. Of the teams recognized, 457 competed in men's or mixed sports, and 827 competed in women's sports. APRs for programs in the top 10 percent ranged from 985 to a perfect 1,000, and the number of teams posting perfect scores increased to 1,188, marking an increase of 98 teams from last year.
 
The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2013-14 through 2016-17 academic years. All Division I teams' APR scores are set to be announced by the NCAA on May 23.