OSU men's basketball, football in danger of postseason penalties due to low APR scores
BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
6/20/12 at 6:21 PM
STILLWATER — Report cards are in and Oklahoma State needs to pick up the academic pace in the high-profile sports of football and men’s basketball. The NCAA released Academic Progress Rates for Division I athletic programs on Wednesday.
The good news for OSU is none of its athletic teams were among 15 nationally (including 10 men’s basketball teams) that will face a postseason ban in the next academic year due to poor classroom performance.
The bad news for OSU is its APR scores in football and men’s basketball were the worst among current Big 12 schools. The scores were calculated over a four-year period ending with the 2010-11 academic year.
APR formulas are based on eligibility and retention of scholarship student-athletes.
Teams scoring below certain thresholds can face sanctions like scholarship losses and restrictions on practice.
The standard for postseason access starts with an APR score of 900, but over the next few years the standard will rise to 930, which equates to a 50 percent graduation success rate.
OSU’s four-year APR in football is 928 and the Cowboys’ four-year APR in men’s basketball also is 928. Nationally, the football average is 948 and the men’s basketball average is 950.
In response to the OSU’s figures, the university’s sports information office provided a statement from associate athletic director for compliance Kevin Fite.
Said Fite, “Over the last two years, football has had student-athletes that have chosen to transfer, or pursue professional football careers, despite remaining eligibility.
“Those factors have contributed to a loss of APR retention points. Nevertheless, we are well above the minimal scores at this point and have implemented strategies that will improve our rolling four-year score.
“This year’s APR score is calculated on a rolling four-year average, not the score from a single year.”
The men’s basketball program has been rocked by defections. Since February of 2011, five players — Jarred Shaw, Reger Dowell, Ray Penn, Fred Gulley and Roger Franklin — departed the program before their eligibility was exhausted. Considering the following guidelines, retention should be a priority in the future:
To be eligible for postseason competition in 2012-13 and 2013-14, teams must achieve a 900 multi-year APR or a 930 average over the most recent two years.
In 2014-15, teams that fail to achieve a four-year APR of 930 or a 940 average for the most recent two years will be banned from postseason.
In 2015-16, the 930 standard will be implemented fully. The APR requirement for postseason participation would be waived only in extraordinary circumstances, according to an NCAA release.
The best-performing OSU team in the APR report was men’s golf, which scored 1,000. The worst-performing Cowboy squad was men’s tennis, which scored 909.
