BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team is being honored by the NCAA for its latest Academic Progress Rate score. The Tigers scored a perfect APR of 1000 in the latest report by the NCAA.
The NCAA on Thursday recognized college sports teams from around the country that achieved an APR score in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. The public recognition awards by the NCAA are part of a broad Division I academic reform effort.
“This is a significant accomplishment because it recognizes academic achievement and progress for a team that also enjoys great success on the tennis courts,” said LSU athletic director Skip Bertman. “This is a reflection of the kind of tennis program that Jeff Brown runs and the continued emphasis he places on academic performance.”
The LSU men’s tennis team is one of only 10 sports teams out of 236 squads in the entire Southeastern Conference that were recognized for academic achievement by the NCAA, and it is the only men’s tennis team in the SEC to achieve the honor.
A total of 839 teams from across the country were recognized. The NCAA consists of 6,110 Division I sports teams.
“These teams prove once again that student-athletes are students first, and many of them are excellent students,” said NCAA President Myles Brand. “I want to personally congratulate these teams and their student-athletes who are working hard in their sport and in the classroom and setting a great example for all students.”
The APR is a point system based on scholarship athletes’ eligibility and retention for a pre-determined time period. NCAA sports falling below an established point cutoff are subject to penalties including scholarship reductions.
Multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving public recognition awards, will be announced May 2. The announcement will include immediate and historical penalties for low-performing teams.