The Oklahoma State football and men's basketball programs have improved their Academic Progress Rate scores but are still in danger of postseason bans in the future.
The NCAA's annual report card released Tuesday evaluates eligibility and retention of scholarship student-athletes over a four-year period ending with the 2011-12 academic year.
OSU's football program raised its score to 947 from 903 in 2011-12 but has a four-year average of 926, the lowest among current Big 12 schools and third-worst among BCS schools. A score of 925 equals a 50 percent graduation rate.
For this year and in previous years, the standard of at least 900 prevented teams from being punished by the NCAA. In 2014-15, teams scoring below 930 over a four-year period will be banned from the postseason, unless they have a 940 average over the two most recent years.
Although Cowboy basketball had a perfect 1,000 score in 2011-12, its rate stayed at 928 for a second consecutive four-year period, also the lowest in the conference.
The national average is 949 for Division I football and 952 for D-I men's basketball.
"The APR is not set up the way it should be," OSU football coach Mike Gundy said this spring. " ... (Players who leave early to turn pro) count against me. Why does that count against me?
" ... Less than 10 percent of (NFL draft prospects stay on campus their last spring semester). They're all training. Now, if it's my son, I'm saying, 'You're in 12 hours and you train here.' But they're not going to do that because some agent is saying, 'You need to come to Phoenix. You need to live with us, eat with us, do whatever.' I don't agree with that, either, but they're not going to listen to me in that situation."
The OSU men's tennis team also had a 926 score. OSU's highest APR sport was softball (993).
No University of Oklahoma program came in below 930, with its lowest being baseball (958), football (960) - second-best in the Big 12, behind TCU - and men's basketball (960). The Sooner women's indoor and outdoor track teams are at 1,000.
With a four-year average of 929, Tulsa football also is flirting with the possibility of penalties but increased its score from 925 last year and 927 two years ago. The Hurricane women's golf team had a 1,000.
Oral Roberts' lowest-ranking teams were men's soccer and men's tennis, both at 926, and women's cross country was the highest (1,000).
The men's and women's basketball teams at New Orleans, ORU's fellow Southland Conference member starting next month, are among 18 programs forced to miss the 2013-14 postseason because of poor APR scores.
Kelly Hines 918-581-8452
kelly.hines@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: OSU still has work ahead on APR
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Eighteen Division I teams
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and nine other college
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time for remedial classroom
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