University of Houston Athletics
Athletics Teams Show Improvement in APR Average
6/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | General
June 9, 2010
HOUSTON - With the NCAA's release of the Academic Progress Rate data on Wednesday, the University of Houston Athletics Department saw 11 of its programs show improvement during a four-year average.
Women's basketball, golf, softball, soccer, tennis, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field each boosted their multi-year score from the previous year.
The football, baseball and softball programs also finished higher than the APR average of all public institutions from 2005-09 with their respective multi-year scores.
Five programs posted perfect APR marks during the 2008-09 school year. On the men's side, the cross country and golf programs each recorded 1000s, while the women's cross country, softball and tennis teams each finished with the highest mark.
"We are extremely proud of the success our teams enjoyed in the classroom," Houston Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades said. "We look forward to the continued academic improvement of all our programs in the near future."
That group was part of the Cougars' successful 2009-10 academic program, which saw more than 100 student-athletes earn places on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, including 13 student-athletes who finished with a 3.75 grade point average or higher to receive the C-USA Academic Medal.
The APR was created to measure the retention, eligibility and graduation of scholarship student-athletes at NCAA colleges and universities. Schools must score above 925 or face potential penalties.
Wednesday's report was based on data submitted by the University for the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years.
All but one of Houston's programs exceeded minimum standards during a four-year average. The men's basketball team was issued a public warning after recording an APR average below 900.
"We acknowledge the NCAA warning and remain committed to the academic success of our men's basketball program. We have a plan in place that will improve our academic achievement in the future, and we have hired a head coach whose teams have had a proven record of academic accomplishment throughout his career," Rhoades said.
Despite that news, four former members of the men's basketball team are scheduled to graduate by the end of this summer, including 2009-10 team members Sean Coleman and Kelvin Lewis.
