April 22, 2009

The Siena men's tennis, women's golf and women's tennis programs have been honored by the NCAA for posting multiyear Academic Progress Rates (APR) in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.

Additionally, Siena had eight sports programs post a perfect 1,000 APR score for 2007-08: baseball, men's golf, men's tennis, women's cross country, women's golf, women's lacrosse, women's softball and women's tennis.

The public recognition awards are part of the broad Division I academic reform effort.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester 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.

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

"The vast majority of sports teams are performing very well academically and exceeding the 925 threshold for their APR scores," NCAA President Myles Brand said. "Nearly 800 of these teams are worthy of special attention, and I commend them for their excellence in academics and athletics."

Each of Siena's 18 Division I sports programs boast APR's over the NCAA cut-score of 925.