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John Todd/isiphotos.com

NCAA APR Recognition

STANFORD, Calif. – Fourteen Stanford varsity programs produced a perfect 1,000 score for the 2021-22 academic year, according to Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released by the NCAA on Tuesday.

Nine women's sports and five men's earned perfect scores. The women's programs were basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, tennis, softball, swimming and diving, and volleyball. The men's were baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and water polo.

In addition, three programs earned perfect multi-year scores: baseball, men's basketball, and women's golf. The multi-year scores measures data collected over a span of four academic years (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22). 

Overall, 14 Stanford teams scored 990 or higher in the multi-year rate, including men's gymnastics (997), softball (996), women's basketball (996), women's swimming and diving (995), women's volleyball (995), men's soccer (994), men's volleyball (994), women's cross country (993), women's track and field (993), women's gymnastics (990), and women's lacrosse (990).

The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams. The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or academic term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in every sport. All teams must meet an academic threshold of 930 to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.

Each academic year, every Division I sports team calculates its APR using a simple and consistent formula. Each term, scholarship student-athletes can earn 1 point for remaining eligible and 1 point for staying in school or graduating. For schools that do not offer scholarships, recruited student-athletes are tracked.

This is the second year of publicly reported APRs after a one-year COVID-19 hiatus. Last spring, the Division I Board of Directors approved the release of APR scores but voted to continue the suspension of program penalties.

The minimum APR academic standard for each team is 930. Typically, teams that scored below the benchmark would have to face penalties that encourage an emphasis and prioritization on academics. However, due to the current penalty suspension in place, teams falling below the minimum 930 score will not be subjected to penalties this year.

Normal Academic Performance Program operations with program penalties and loss of access to postseason competition will resume in spring 2024. This will also include the public recognition of high-performing teams.