Seahawks continue to post strong APR numbers

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – After a year-long hiatus, the NCAA, the governing body of college athletics, has resumed public announcement of Academic Progression Rate (APR) scores and UNCW student-athletes continue to excel in class.

“We are extremely proud of our student-athletes,” said jimmy bass, athletic director of UNCW. “We always want to compete for championships, but winning in the classroom is our top priority. Our student-athletes are serious about their academic endeavors and it shows.”

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved the continued suspension of APR sanctions for an additional year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but supported the release of APR data.

The Seahawks recorded an APR of 978 for scoring in a single year. CAA is tied for fourth among the nation’s 32 NCAA Division I conferences in the latest overall APR rate. CAA schools achieved a combined GPR of 989, higher than the national average.

Each NCAA Division I team calculates its APR based on the eligibility, graduation, and retention of each scholarship student-athlete. Teams that score below certain thresholds may face consequences, such as training restrictions and restrictions on post-season competition. Rates are based on performance for the past four years and the most recent TAPs are multi-year rates based on scores for the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 academic years.

In NCAA high-performance sports, the four-year average APR for men’s basketball improved two points (968), while women’s basketball (983) remained stable.
Throughout the Academic Performance Program’s 18 years, more than 20,000 student-athletes have returned to school to graduate – earning points for their former team. For the high-performance sports of soccer, baseball, and men’s and women’s basketball, more than 10,400 former student-athletes have returned to college to complete their education. These student-athletes are generally not counted in the calculation of the federal graduation rate or graduation success rate.


Each academic year, each Division I sports team calculates its APR using a simple and consistent formula. Each term, scholarship student-athletes can earn one point for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. For schools that do not offer scholarships, recruited student-athletes are tracked.


The minimum academic APR standard for each team is 930. Typically, teams that score below the benchmark face penalties that encourage an emphasis and prioritization on academics. However, due to the current suspension of penalties in place, teams are not subject to penalties this year.



UNCW APR Scores | Reporting period – 2017-2018 to 2020-2021