Most colleges in Virginia meet NCAA academic standards

No team at Virginia, Virginia Tech, VMI or Radford was hit with a penalty for poor performance under the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate figures, which were released Tuesday.

The APR reflects four years of performance, from the 2008-09 school year through 2011-12. It is used by the NCAA to measure athletes' progress toward degrees. A 930 score predicts a 50 percent graduation rate.

Eighteen Division I teams will have to miss the NCAA postseason for the 2013-14 school year, including Norfolk State men's indoor and outdoor track and Florida International men's basketball.

All sports at Virginia, Virginia Tech and Radford had a multi-year score above the 900 threshold the NCAA requires to avoid the possibility of penalties for the 2013-14 school year. So did all of the VMI teams that have been in existence for some time.

The VMI women's water polo team had an 889, but it was not penalized because it did not have four years of data to measure. It did not make its debut until the 2011-12 school year.

Some teams around the country were punished, however.

Most of the penalized schools, including 11 historically black schools, have significantly more limited resources than top NCAA programs.

Teams can earn two points per student-athlete, one for retaining an athlete in school and another for that player making progress toward a degree. A percentage is calculated on earned points out of total possible points. The decimal figure is then multiplied by 1,000 for a final score.

Virginia Tech's football team had a 970 multi-year score, its highest since the NCAA began collecting data. That puts the Hokies in the 80th to 90th percentile within their sport.

Virginia's football team had a 959 multi-year score, an average brought up significantly by its 987 single-year score for 2011-12.

VMI's football team had a 937 multi-year score.

Fifteen UVa teams had perfect scores of 1,000 for the 2011-12 school year: women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, women's swimming, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, men's indoor and outdoor track, softball, volleyball and wrestling.

Three Tech teams achieved perfect single-year scores: softball and men's and women's cross country.

VMI teams with scores of 1,000 for the 2011-12 school year were wrestling, women's cross country and women's outdoor track.

Radford teams with a 1,000 for 2011-12 were men's cross country, men's tennis and women's volleyball.

Nineteen UVa teams and 13 Tech teams had multi-year scores of 980 or higher, as did VMI men's soccer, VMI co-ed rifle and Radford women's golf.

Receiving public recognition awards for having a multi-year APR in the top 10 percent of their sport nationally were Tech men's cross country and golf; VMI rifle; and UVa wrestling, men's golf and women's golf.

Mark Berman and The Associated Press contributed to this report

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