FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 19, 2020) – The Northern Arizona Athletics Department displayed excellence in the latest annual NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate released by the NCAA on Tuesday.
All 13 of the Lumberjacks' Division I programs (men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field are combined into two programs rather than four separate) exceeded the required NCAA standard.
"Our student-athletes, coaches and staff strive to make our community and alumni proud of our efforts in the classroom, community and the fields of competition," said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics
Mike Marlow. "The recent APR scores demonstrate athletics' alignment with campus values and the priority placed on academics at NAU. A shared focus on the academic success of our student-athletes will continue to be a core objective of Lumberjack Athletics."
The NCAA's latest APR report is based on data submitted by institutions for the 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 academic years, which comprise each institution's multiyear rate.
NAU's overall department multiyear rate is 972, up from 967 from a year ago and the department's highest average since the 2014-15 report. NAU men's track & field and women's cross country are ahead of the national Division I average for their sports, while women's tennis is tied with the national average.
Along with NAU's department rise, 11 of the Lumberjacks' 13 teams saw a multiyear improvement or remained the same. Both women's tennis and volleyball experienced the largest multiyear jumps of 16 points from 2017-18 to 2018-19.
Five programs – women's cross country, golf, soccer, women's tennis and volleyball – posted perfect single-year scores of 1,000 for the 2018-19 academic year as part of eight total teams who posted improved scores or remained the same from the 2017-18 report.
For NAU women's cross country, it is the team's third consecutive perfect 1,000 single-year score and fifth in the last six years. Women's tennis has posted 1,000 in nine of the last 11 years, while both golf and volleyball each recorded their second consecutive 1,000 single-year number.
The NAU men's basketball team's 980 single-year APR is the program's best since 2012-13. Similarly, football (946) and women's basketball (983) are the program's highest respective APR in three years. The football team's single-year rate improved for the third consecutive year, as did men's basketball.
Overall, the department's 2018-19 single-year average was 980 as the Lumberjacks have seen a rise in their departmental average for five consecutive years. The 980 single-year APR also places NAU third in the Big Sky Conference for the 2018-19 academic year.
During the 2018-19 academic year, NAU Athletics recorded a 3.15 cumulative grade point average, including the department's highest GPA for a single semester of 3.13 for the 2019 spring term. Eight teams, led by women's basketball's 3.70 team GPA, recorded a GPA of 3.30 and higher for the year.
The APR was created to provide more of a real-time measurement of academic success than graduation rates offer and is a team-based metric. Scholarship student-athletes earn one point each term for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. The NCAA reports both single-year and four-year rates, on which penalties for poor academic performance are based.
NAU's multiyear and 2018-19 academic progress rates are below.
