NCAA sees improvements in academics

The most recent effort to improve academics shows gains, but some teams still need work

Academic reform is working, the NCAA says. The proof can be seen in the penalties being doled out by college sports' sanctioning body and in the improving performances in the classroom.

More than 140 Division I teams are losing scholarships, and 26 "historic" underachievers could face postseason bans with another bad year, according to four-year academic progress rates released Tuesday by the NCAA.

"Academic reform is here to stay, and those penalties resemble what we give for major infractions," NCAA President Myles Brand said.

The overall academic progress rate (APR) of Division I athletes has risen almost four points since the NCAA began collecting data in 2003. Brand pointed to major improvements in baseball and football, which were in "serious trouble" four years ago.

But Brand and other NCAA officials remain worried about men's basketball, which is up slightly after two years of declines.

More than 700 of the 6,272 Division I teams fell short of the mandated score of 925 to avoid penalties, and 218 were penalized. Some were granted waivers, and others showed enough improvement to avoid penalties.

Here are some answers to questions about academic reform and the latest figures:

Q: What's APR?

A: APR stands for academic progress rate. Adopted four years ago as part of the NCAA's academic reform plan, it is based on points awarded each term for athletes who remain academically eligible, stay at the school and eventually graduate. The APR was developed to better measure athletes' "real-time" progress in class than graduation rates did.

The latest figures represent data each school submitted for the 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years.

Q: How did area schools do?

A: N.C. State, North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest exceeded the APR standard in the two major, revenue-producing sports -- football and men's basketball. In fact, the only ACC team penalized in any sport was N.C. State wrestling, which reported a 914 APR score and is losing almost a full scholarship next year.

Q: Were other schools in the state were penalized?

A: Yes. East Carolina is losing a scholarship in men's basketball and must cut its weekly practice time from 20 hours to 18. Gardner-Webb is losing 1.85 scholarships in football and 0.08 of a scholarship in men's soccer. UNC-Greensboro is losing a 0.87 portion in baseball, one scholarship in men's basketball and a 0.38 portion in men's outdoor track.

Q: How are the penalties determined?

A: With some exceptions, a team faces an immediate loss of financial aid if it posts an APR score below 925 and loses an academically ineligible athlete. A so-called 0-for-2 player is one who transfers, turns pro early or just leaves and would not have been eligible if he or she had returned. That's why N.C. State's wrestling team was penalized.

The scholarship loss is capped at 10 percent of a team's financial aid limit. NCSU, which awards the equivalent of 9.9 grants in wrestling, is losing 0.99 of one.

A chronic underperformer is penalized for an APR below 900. The ECU men's basketball team was formally warned last year for a sub-900 score, penalized this year and, if it falls short again next year, could be banned from postseason play.

Q: What do the poor performers have to do?

A: They have to bring up their APR scores, starting with academic improvement plans. Each team below 925 must develop a plan. Each team below 900 must submit the plan to the NCAA.

Q: Can a school appeal?

A: Yes. Extenuating circumstances such as a lack of resources or multiple coaching changes are considered. The NCAA received more than 120 penalty-waiver requests; it granted conditional waivers to 66 schools and partial relief to about 20 more.

ECU, which has had two coaching changes and a number of transfers since 2005, applied for a waiver. The NCAA, which had initially cut ECU's allowed practice time four hours a week, instead reduced it only two.

N.C. State chose not to appeal the lost wrestling scholarship.

Q: What are the average APR scores?

A: They are 961 for all Division I athletes, 951 for men and 969 for women.

Q: How much are athletes who transfer affecting the APR results?

A: Too much, some coaches and athletic administrators say. ECU athletic director Terry Holland said 11 men's basketball players have transferred in three years, counting against ECU in the retention category.

An NCAA committee has approved an adjustment in how transfers will be counted, to take effect with the APR data for 2007-08. If an athlete transfers to a four-year school with a grade-point average of at least 2.6, the original school might not lose that retention point.

"Well, I think basketball coaches would tell you this is more fair. ... I think there's some debate about: Could it be a 2.5 or a 2.4?" said Phil Hughes of Kansas State, president of the National Association of Academic Advisers for Athletics.

But Hughes is worried that athletes could come to be seen only as potential lost retention points when they would be better off leaving. He also noted one of the clear intentions of academic reform was to get coaches to change their recruiting practices to better evaluate how well a prospect will fit the university.