Duke has top 2014-15 ACC APR football scores

Duke turned in the best Academic Progress Rate scores in the ACC in 2014-15 in football and tied for the best mark in men’s basketball with six other ACC teams, including North Carolina.

The data released this week by the NCAA measures eligibility and retention for both the academic year of 2014-15 and a multiyear score (which covers four years and goes back to 2011-12).

The Blue Devils’ multiyear score of 995 in football was the highest in the country and coincides with one of Duke’s best stretches on the field under coach David Cutcliffe.

Both Duke and UNC had a perfect 1,000 score in men’s basketball. Duke’s multiyear average of 995 tied for third with Pitt in the ACC behind Clemson and Louisville, which both had four-year averages of 1,000.

In all, Duke had nine varsity programs register a perfect multiyear score, and 12 teams had the highest scores in their respective sports.

For the 2014-15 year, UNC registered its highest schoolwide average of 987 and had 18 teams register a single-year score of 1,000. Duke had 15 teams with perfect scores, and N.C. State had six.

While Duke ranked highly in the ACC in the revenue sports in the multiyear scores, UNC and N.C. State ranked near the bottom of the conference in football and men’s basketball.

N.C. State’s multiyear score (969) tied for ninth in football and (966) 14th in men’s basketball, ahead of only Virginia Tech.

UNC ranked 13th, out of 14 teams, in football in the multiyear score (995) and tied for 11th, out of 15 teams, in men’s basketball with a 974 score.

The APR is snapshot of students and their eligibility and differs from both the Graduation Success Rate and the federal graduation rate.

On the whole, the ACC had the most teams (81) of any of the Power 5 conference recognized by the NCAA. All 58 of the ACC’s football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams exceed the required 930 APR average.

Teams that fall below the 930 requirement are subject to postseason bans. Twelve of the 14 ACC football teams exceeded the national average of 964 in the sport, and 14 of the 15 men’s basketball teams exceeded the 964 national average in the sport.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Duke has top 2014-15 ACC APR football scores."