By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the second-straight year, the Tennessee Tech men's and women's golf teams are among those receiving Public Recognition Awards Tuesday 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.
"I am again proud at the highest level because of the continued academic success achieved by our teams," Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson said. "I was elated to see that, for the second year in-a-row, our men's and women's golf programs were selected to receive Public Recognition Awards for their hard work and dedication in the classroom. It continues to show we are successfully fulfilling our goals toward our student-athletes."
"Coach [Polk] Brown, his staff and each of our student-athletes should be just as proud and honored of this achievement. It is once again proof that when our students enter Tennessee Tech, they do so better prepared and stay on track to earn their degrees. For that, I applaud them all and wish them continued success."
This marks the fourth straight year that the Golden Eagle men's golf team has earned the honor. It also represents the second Public Recognition Award for the women's golf team. Coach Brown spoke about the honors for each team.
"The very first 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 both of our teams to be recognized by the NCAA. It's just a testament to how well each of them balances the student-athlete lifestyle."
Each year, the NCAA honors select 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 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19).
Tech was among 11 OVC schools that produced award winners in a sport. Tech joined the University of Tennessee as the only public institution in the state whose men's golf team was honored. The Golden Eagle women's golf team was one of six in-state, public universities to collect the honor.
"Our student-athletes have done an incredible job in focusing on academics," Wilson said, "but the marvelous work behind the scenes from our coaches and [Assistant Athletic Director for Academics and Student Welfare] Leveda Dexter and her staff, including our academic advisors Samantha Bates, Virginia Lewis and Kara Phillips, cannot go unnoticed or uncelebrated. They never stop working at developing programs that provide the necessary support and direction to assist our student-athletes in achieving at the highest levels, including during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Their leadership and direction have allowed our student-athletes to achieve in an unprecedented time in our history and I can't thank them enough for their tireless devotion to Tech Athletics."
APRs for all Division I teams will be released May 19. 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.
