The NCAA released the APR today, the Academic Progress Report, the NCAA's opportunity to seize the spotlight and do what it does best: issue press releases.
The NCAAs Academic Performance Program (APP) is creating positive behavioral change among Division I institutions, according to new four-year data released May 6.
The multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) data with four years of data collection available for the first time show upward trends in several categories, especially from 2005-06 to 2006-07.
GET DOWN, PARTY PEOPLE! GET DOWN!
We're still digging through the data for this year, made even more fun by the NCAA's propensity for releasing a press release on one page, a commentary on another, a spreadsheet here, a comprehensive list hosted on a Russian Military server and only accessible via several hours of white-knuckle hackery. Fortunately, the Indy Star has them all compiled nicely for you so you can revel in the uproarious ironies of a system where the University of Florida's football team is on par with the United States Military Academy's team in academic performance, and where Eastern Kentucky pwnz them both.
In the meantime, the only penalties of any relevance to college football go to Kansas and Washington State, who will suffer scholarship losses due to underwhelming APR scores. NCAA, beware: Mark Mangino will have his real estate agent call you to voice his displeasure with your metrics!