May 4, 2017 LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – A new record eight Siena College athletic programs have been honored by the NCAA with Public Recognition Awards for achieving Academic Progress Rates (APR) in the top-10 percent of their respective sports nationally. Siena’s men’s cross country, men’s golf, men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s soccer, volleyball, and water polo teams each received recognition for their outstanding academic achievements.
“NCAA student athletes and schools continue to achieve unprecedented levels of academic success,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. “We commend these programs for their commitment to academic excellence and dedication to preparing student athletes for life after college.”
The NCAA tracks the classroom performance of scholarship student athletes on every Division I sports team, and the APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for each of those teams. The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each scholarship student athlete, and accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation, and provides a measure of each team’s academic performance. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16 academic years.
A total of 1,203 teams representing 306 Division I schools were recognized with Public Recognition Awards. Scores for programs in the top-10 percent in their respective sports nationally ranged from 984 to a perfect 1,000, with 1,090 teams earning a perfect score, including Siena’s men’s cross country, men’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s soccer, volleyball, and water polo teams.
“Our student athletes are a significant group of individuals within our student body who consistently perform well both in the classroom and in their chosen sport,” said Siena College President Br. F. Edward Coughlin, O.F.M., Ph. D. “Their success is a tribute to their dedicated efforts and the many sacrifices they make to reach their goals.”
This marks the seventh year in a row during the 12-year-old program in which at least five Siena athletic programs earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards. Siena College led all Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference institutions this year with their record eight teams honored.
“Student athlete welfare is a buzz word in the college sports community, and there is no better measure of a Division I school’s commitment to their athletes than the NCAA’s APR success, particularly the number of MAAC teams in the top 10% of their sport,” explained MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “I congratulate all the student athletes, coaches, and administrators whose hard work in the classroom and support has led to this recognition.”
This marks the ninth consecutive year in which Siena’s men’s and women’s tennis programs have received NCAA Public Recognition Awards. Meanwhile, water polo earned acclaim for the fifth consecutive year, and volleyball for the third year in a row. Men’s cross country earned the program’s third-ever honor, while both men’s golf and women’s soccer received their respective program’s second Public Recognition Awards. Moreover, men’s lacrosse was one of just nine Division I men’s lacrosse teams to earn the honor in receiving the program’s first-ever Public Recognition Award.
“Siena is proud that our athletes are truly scholar-athletes who understand that successful academic achievement is the most important goal for college students,” noted Siena College Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Margaret E. Madden. “We are fortunate to have an athletic staff this is diligent about conveying this value to their teams.”
The NCAA’s announcement further reinforces Siena College’s continued success as an institution which annually ranks amongst the top Division I schools nationally in the paramount areas of student athlete academic and graduation success.
Earlier this school year, the NCAA’s annual Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report revealed that 91% of student athletes who entered Siena College as freshmen in 2009 graduated, compared to the national average of 84%. Siena has achieved a GSR of 90% or higher in all 12 NCAA reports since the rate was first released, and the 94% GSR that the College has averaged since the report’s inception ranks among the top-10 percent of all Division I institutions nationally. A total of 12 Siena athletic programs posted perfect 100% cohort GSR’s in the latest report.
