May 6, 2008

Sixteen of Baylor's intercollegiate athletics programs scored at or above the national threshold of 925 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's 2008 Academic Progress Rate (APR) public report released Tuesday and none of its teams are subject to the organization's Contemporaneous Penalties.

"I am extremely proud of the academic performance of our student-athletes," said Baylor Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. "This success is a credit to the dedication of our student-athletes, academic commitment of our coaches and the outstanding work of the student-athlete services staff. Moreover, Baylor's faculty members play a key role in the academic success of our student-athletes and are to be commended for the outstanding job they do in the classroom."

The APR, now in its fourth year, is a four-year average based on the school's overall student-athlete eligibility, graduation and retention rates for student-athletes who participated during the 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years. It also serves as a predictor of graduation success. The Baylor men's tennis team recorded a 917 average for that period but is not subject to penalty due to its squad size while the women's equestrian program was not tracked.

Baylor had two programs, baseball and women's soccer, lead the Big 12 Conference in APR with scores of 974 and 988, respectively. Baylor's women's volleyball team ranked third in the conference with a 985 average.

Eleven of Baylor's athletic programs scored above the national I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision) APR average for their respective sport (baseball, men's basketball, men's cross country, football, men's golf, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's golf, women's soccer, softball and women's volleyball). Those same 11 programs were all above the average for all Division I athletic programs nationally.

Baylor's sport-by-sport APR scores:

Men's Programs: Baseball, 974; Basketball, 928; Cross Country, 980; Football, 938; Golf, 977; Tennis, 917; Indoor Track, 925; Outdoor Track, 925.

Women's Programs: Basketball, 967; Cross Country, 972; Golf, 985; Soccer, 988; Softball, 977; Tennis, 962; Indoor Track, 958; Outdoor Track, 959; Volleyball, 985.