Sooners lead conference in academic rating
The NCAA has released their Academic Progress Report (APR) numbers. The report shows Oklahoma’s football team leads the Big 12 with a score of 942. Texas matched that 942 and Nebraska followed with a score of 941.
These scores reflect the eligibility, retention and graduation rates of scholar athletes. A score below 922 may result in the NCAA taking away scholarships. Kansas, with a score of 919, has faced that fate.
As you might suspect, Stanford, Duke and Rutgers top the last nationwide. Arizona, Washington State and South Florida are stuck at the bottom.
We have this notion that the high-brow elite schools struggle to field competitive teams; and that the top performers on the field are the D-students in the classroom. But these numbers do not reflect such an easy correlation. In fact, perhaps the opposite is true. Those programs that consistently succeed pass the NCAA minimum score easily; but the occasional football darlings, such as Kansas and South Florida, score poorly.
This all may be a difference which is determined during recruiting season. It would be good if the so-called expert recruiting services would rate the academic “stars” of recruits like they do their athletic ability. It is becoming increasingly important. — Mike