Tech men's golf among five OVC teams receiving NCAA Public Recognition Awards

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech men's golf team is one of five Ohio Valley Conference teams which were among those who received public recognition awards announced Wednesday by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) for top academic performance.

The awards are given to teams scoring in the top 10 percent of the multi-year Academic Progress Rates (APR), which is part of the NCAA’s academic reform program.

The five OVC teams honored included three from Eastern Illinois University (men’s golf, women’s golf and women’s soccer), one from Morehead State University (women’s cross country) and the Golden Eagle men’s golf team.

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 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08). High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards posted APR scores ranging from 976 to a perfect 1,000.

This year 767 teams (448 women’s teams, 319 men’s or mixed teams) were publically recognized for high academic achievement; that figure represents 11.9 percent of the approximately 6,484 Division I teams. In all, 205 institutions (out of 331 Division I schools) placed at least one team on the list. Last year 712 teams were recognized.

Multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving public recognition awards, will be announced May 6. The announcement will also include immediate and historical penalties for low-performing teams.