By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women's cross country team and men's golf team were among those receiving Public Recognition Awards in May from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for top academic performance. The awards are presented to teams scoring in the Top 10 percent nationally in the Multi-Year Academic Progress Rate (APR), which is part of the NCAA's academic reform program.
Recently, both teams were presented with letters of congratulations from NCAA President Mark Emmert and President John DeGioia, chair of the Committee on Academics.
"We continue to take a great deal of pride in the academic success of all our teams," said Mark Wilson, TTU Director of Athletics. "For our women's cross country and men's golf teams to receive these letter froms NCAA President Emmert shows, once again, that we are successfully fulfilling our mission toward our student-athletes. I want to again congratulate Coach [Wayne] Angel and Coach [Polk] Brown, as well as their staffs and the student-athletes. These honors speak to the diligence of our student-athletes. Our students are coming in better prepared when they enter Tennessee Tech, and they are staying on track to earn their degrees."
Golden Eagle women's cross country coach Wayne Angel expressed his gratitude to the NCAA and said the program's goals are to continue growing on the course and in the classroom.
"Our goal has always been to graduate and win championships," he explained. "That's the emphasis. I'm very proud and honored that our ladies continue to get it done in the classroom and are getting better and better athletically in the conference. It is an honor to recognized by the NCAA for our prowess in the classroom and our APR. We're going to do our best to keep this tradition growing."
Men's golf coach Polk Brown spoke about the lofty expectations set upon his student-athletes and the significance of the honor.
"The most important thing we stress to our players when they get to Tech is they are here to get a degree before anything else," he said. "They understand the importance of going to class, putting in the work and making good grades. They know the expectation is they have to perform in the classroom before they can do anything on the golf course. I'm very excited for the guys to be recognized by the NCAA. It's just a testament to how well they balance the student-athlete lifestyle."
Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports. Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport.
The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.
The APR awards two points each term to student-athletes who meet academic eligibility standards and who remain with the institution. A team's APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible, multiplied by 1,000. It includes four years (this year's numbers included the school years of 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16). High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards posted APR scores ranging from 984 to a perfect 1,000.
Tech was among nine OVC schools that produced award winners in a sport. The Golden Eagle women's cross country team was one of just three honored in the state of Tennessee. Tech joined East Tennessee State as the only public institutions in the state whose men's golf team was honored.
"Our student-athletes have done a tremendous job, but credit should also go to the coaches, Dr. Lance Jasitt (assistant athletic director for academics and student welfare) and his staff, including Leveda Dexter, Ashlee Kiser and Virginia Lewis," Wilson said. "They have developed programs that provide support and direction, and allow our student-athletes to achieve at the highest levels."
A total of 306 schools placed at least one team on the top APR list, up 16 from 2016. The 1,203 teams publicly recognized for high achievement represent 746 women's teams and 457 men's or mixed squads. In 2016, 1,071 teams were recognized, marking an increase this year of 132 teams.
APRs for all Division I teams will be released May 10. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams nationally. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for continued low academic performance.
