Increased Academic Benchmarks In Latest NCAA APR

STANFORD, Calif. – Nineteen Stanford varsity programs produced a perfect 1,000 score for the 2024-25 academic year, according to Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released by the NCAA on Tuesday.

Overall, 11 women’s sports and eight men’s programs earned perfect scores. The women’s sports were basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, track and field and volleyball. The men’s were basketball, cross country, gymnastics, soccer, swimming and diving, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

APR is a measure used by the NCAA to track the academic success and eligibility of student-athletes over time. APR holds institutions accountable for supporting student-athletes in the classroom and staying on track to earn a degree while providing a clear picture of how well teams are helping student-athletes succeed academically, not just compete athletically.

Each academic year, every Division I sports team's APR is calculated using a simple and consistent formula. Scholarship student-athletes can earn 1 point for staying on course for a degree in their chosen major and 1 point for being retained (or graduating) at the end of each academic term. A team's total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by 1,000.

In addition, three programs earned perfect multi-year scores: beach volleyball, women’s golf and lacrosse. The multi-year scores measure data collected over a span of four academic years (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25).

Overall, 20 Stanford teams scored 990 or higher in the multi-year rate, including men’s swimming and diving (999), men’s cross country (998), men’s water polo (998), softball (998), baseball (997), men’s basketball (997), men’s soccer (997), women’s rowing (997), men’s volleyball (995), field hockey (994), women’s soccer (994), women’s track and field (994), men’s track and field (992), women’s cross country (992), women’s tennis (992), women’s water polo (992), women’s basketball (991), women’s fencing (991), women’s gymnastics (990) and women’s swimming and diving (990).

Stanford’s 2024-25 totals represented a noticeable increase from the 2023-24 campaign, when 13 programs produced perfect scores and 14 teams scored 990 or higher in the multi-year rate.

Implemented in 2003 as part of an ambitious academic reform effort in Division I, the APR emerged when Division I presidents and chancellors sought a more timely assessment of academic success at colleges and universities. At the time, the best measure was the graduation rate calculated under the federally mandated methodology that was based on a six-year window and did not take transfers into account.

Back in the fall, Stanford registered an overall graduation rate of 97 percent in the latest Graduation Success Rate, with 21 programs earning a 100 percent graduation rate. The Cardinal has produced an overall score of 96 or higher for 14 consecutive seasons.

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