Don't go overboard on APR talk

Schools are sending out all sorts of press releases on their APR stats. I am sure a BC one will arrive soon. Usually BC is among the highest scorers in the rating that captures academic progress and graduation. The APR can also punish poor performing schools. Yet miraculously it is the little guys who always get penalized and the Power 5 programs all somehow skate along boasting of their success in supporting student athletes. Critics say the rating and system is fixed and borderline fraudulent. Considering Kentucky Basketball is now touting their perfect APR score, I think it is time to downplay our APR success.

I am not trying to pick on Kentucky. In fact, I admire Calipari's transparency. He's not bothering with the sham "student athletes." He's recruiting a bunch of "one and done"s and trying to win as many basketball games as he can. I doubt he is spending much time worrying about his APR. I assume there is a whole army of staffers and administrators in Lexington holding these players' hands for their one year, and the same support team is filing every exemption needed with regards to transfers and guys who leave for the Draft to not hurt Kentucky Basketball's APR.

I do think BC has genuine concern for our student's progress. As long as we are part of Big Time sports, I think we should keep that focus. It is a nice differentiator. However, let's use our own stats about graduating players and helping them succeed off the field. Because bragging about our APR is pointless.

Quigley sells to Vick and other links

Former Eagle Ryan Quigley made headlines for the right reasons when he sold his jersey number to Michael Vick. Quigley is donating Vick's payment to a South Carolina charity that helps troubled teens.

Rutgers brought more embarrassment upon themselves and the Big Ten this week. The Big Lead wondered if we were one of the schools the Big Ten should have selected in the past.

Once again BC teams performed very well on the APR.

Some Lacrosse experts think BC is most likely to get upset in the opening of the NCAA Tournament. Our draw involves three conference champions.

Analysing APR

BC once again produced very strong Academic Progress Rates. There are some interesting numbers to ponder. First, read the press release:

Boston College Sports Teams Receive High Academic Marks

Boston College’s varsity sports teams scored big this week when the NCAA released its annual Academic Progress Rate report. The average APR score of the 28 BC teams that were counted was 989 – 19 points above the national average (970). Every BC team scored 960 or above, and six teams – men’s fencing, men’s golf, men’s skiing, women’s lacrosse, women’s skiing and women’s tennis – scored a perfect 1,000.

Boston College’s football team scored a 971 – a full 25 points above the national average. The men’s basketball team scored a 972 – 27 points above the national average.

“Boston College is, above all, an academic institution,” Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo said. “Obviously we want to field competitive sports teams, and we want to win, which our teams do. But when we recruit student-athletes, we tell them they have an opportunity to receive a degree from one of the greatest universities in the country, and our mission is to ensure that they are successful. Once again, we are very proud of our student-athletes’ accomplishments in the classroom.”

Boston College fields teams in 31 varsity men’s and women’s sports; the NCAA does not include men’s and women’s sailing in the report, and BC’s women’s fencing score was not counted as the team consisted totally of non-scholarship walk-ons.

Every Division I sports team calculates its APR each academic year, based on the eligibility and retention of each scholarship student-athlete. Teams scoring below certain thresholds can face penalties, such as scholarship losses and restrictions on practice and competition. Rates are based on the past four years’ performance. Each scholarship student-athlete may earn one point for being eligible and one point for retention per semester for a total of four points per academic year. The total points are then divided by the number of potential points each team could have earned. That percentage is then multiplied by 1000 to provide each team with its APR. The NCAA has established 925 as the cut-off mark. Any team below that standard may be subject to penalties.

Overall, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s sports teams are among the most successful in the classroom. The average of all ACC teams exceeded 980.

Boston College’s APR Scores:

Baseball 984; women’s field hockey 993; football 971; men’s basketball 972; men’s cross country 990; men’s fencing 1000; men’s golf 1000; men’s ice hockey 965; men’s skiing 1000; men’s soccer 982; men’s swimming 996; men’s tennis 963; men’s indoor track 992; men’s outdoor track 996; softball 996; women’s basketball 979; women’s cross country 993; women’s golf 960; women’s ice hockey 992; women’s lacrosse 1000; women’s rowing 993; women’s skiing 1000; women’s soccer 996; women’s swimming 995; women’s tennis 1000; women’s indoor track 997; women’s outdoor track 997; women’s volleyball 994.

The most surprising number for me was football's. I assumed that recent attrition --with some of it due to academics -- would leave BC in a much bigger hole. But because it is a "progress" snapshot over four years, one outlier shouldn't dramatically change the numbers. Basketball was surprisingly strong (which Skinner never got enough credit for). The only program really lagging is hockey. But the nature of that sport and our position within it will mean many will not graduate.

The press release doesn't mention that as an Athletic Department BC had the third highest national rank behind Notre Dame and Duke. Why does it always have to be Notre Dame and Duke?

BC-Michigan in ACC Challenge and other links

BC played went to Ann Arbor two years ago as part of the ACC Challenge. Neither team was particularly good and the game was shunned off to an early ESPN U start. Next season BC will travel to Ann Arbor again only this time it will probably be one of the featured games of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Here are the other matchups.

Although none of the marquee sports earned recognition, numerous BC teams scored very high on the NCAA's APR report.

Former Eagle Tim Ceglarski stepped down as Elmira's coach.

Sean Ryan signed with the Chiefs.

BC is in the mix for Maryland LB Troy Gloster.

Taking a look at BC's APR rating

The NCAA released its latest APR report Tuesday. As a refresher, the APR stands for Academic Progress Report. Myles Brand created the measurement to track the academic success of student athletes. Programs that fail to meet national standards are subject to scholarship penalties and other restrictions.

You can read BC's report here.

What does it mean for BC? For the most part the news in excellent. The danger score is 925 and all of the BC teams are well above that number. The only team flirting with 925 is men's basketball and they are above the national average for hoops. The APR is calculated using a four year window, so our basketball number should creep up once the players who were kicked out mid semester cycle out of our average.

Hats of to the Athletic Department for keeping our athletes in school and on the path to graduation.