LOUDONVILLE, NY – Recruit. Retain. Graduate. Siena College Athletics continues to excel in all three vital areas. A total of six Siena Athletics programs posted perfect multi-year academic progress rates, according to the 2021-22 NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate Report released Tuesday. The Siena men's cross country, men's track, women's cross country, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, and women's track programs all achieved unblemished multi-year APR scores of 1,000.
 
"Excellence is engrained in student-athletes — academically and athletically. Thousands of former student-athletes are returning to college to complete their degrees, further demonstrating the importance of higher education and exemplifying the fulfillment of earning a college degree," said Division I Committee on Academics Chair Robert Davies, president of Central Michigan.
 
The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams. The APR report measures eligibility, graduation, and retention each semester or academic term, with student athletes earning one point for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. The NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program helps to ensure that schools are fulfilling their commitment to equip student athletes with the tools and resources necessary to achieve academic success. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 academic years.
 
"Siena's mission is to graduate Saints prepared and wanting to make the world a better place. Many of those future leaders, as evidenced by the latest NCAA APR Report, participate in our Division I sports," said Siena College Provost Margaret Madden, Ph.D. "I'm proud of our coaches and staff for cultivating a longstanding culture of academic excellence, and I'm especially proud of our student athletes for routinely exceeding lofty expectations."    
 
Siena's men's and women's track programs have now achieved perfect multi-year APR scores of 1,000 for eight consecutive reports, dating back to their founding. Men's and women's cross country have now posted perfect scores for three straight reports, and women's soccer has now achieved this milestone in back-to-back years. Meanwhile, women's lacrosse earned a perfect multi-year APR score of 1,000 for the first time in program history.
 
"Despite the rapidly evolving collegiate athletics landscape, which has directly impacted the Academic Progress Rate Report, we are incredibly pleased with our Saints' continued commitment to their academic success," said Siena College Vice President and Director of Athletics John D'Argenio. "Our department's continued annual success on this national academic scorecard is a testament to our student athletes who put a priority on academics and graduation, our coaches who recruit and help develop them to achieve their full potential both on and off the field of play, and our S.A.IN.T.S. Office who supports them and provides our Saints with the tools necessary to succeed. I would also like to applaud the efforts of head coach John Kenworthy who, with our athletic department's two largest rosters, has cultivated a pair of programs in both men's and women's track which have now achieved perfect scores in each year of their existence."  
 
In addition to the six Siena Athletics programs which earned perfect APR scores, men's golf (990) and women's swimming and diving (987) also outpaced the national four-year Academic Progress Rate of 984, which matched last year's mark. The men's basketball program achieved the highest rate increase of any Siena Athletics program, earning an 11-point jump from last year's report. The men's basketball APR score of 983 exceeds its national sport average by 16 points.
 
"The MAAC and its member institutions have set a high standard in academics, and our successful multi-year APR shows our student-athletes' dedication in the classroom," said MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. "Congratulations to all the MAAC student-athletes and programs for their continued success in the classroom."
 
The six Siena Athletics programs with perfect multi-year APR scores of 1,000 was tied with both Fairfield University and Marist College for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference lead amongst sports which the conference sponsors. This marks the second straight year in which Siena has stood atop the MAAC. Siena previously led all MAAC institutions in NCAA Public Recognition awards for the most recent four years (2017-21) in which those honors were bestowed.
 
This is the second year of publicly reported APRs, after a one-year COVID-19 hiatus. Last spring, the Division I Board of Directors approved the release of APR scores, but voted to continue the suspension of program penalties. Normal Academic Performance Program operations with program penalties and loss of access to postseason competition will resume in spring 2024. This will also include the resumption of NCAA Public Recognition Awards for high-performing teams.