Carolina tops ACC public universities in Academic Progress Rates recognitions
The five men's and five women's teams from Carolina that are being honored this year include men's basketball, men's cross country, women's fencing, men's golf, gymnastics, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis and volleyball.
The NCAA has honored 10 athletic programs at the University of North Carolina for ranking among the top 10 percent nationally in Academic Progress Rates in their respective sports.
That is the highest number of programs honored among public institutions in the Atlantic Coast Conference, equals the sixth most among all Power 5 schools and ties the University of Michigan for the most teams honored among public schools in the Power 5 conferences.
The five men’s and five women’s teams from Carolina that are being honored this year include men’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s fencing, men’s golf, gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and volleyball. All 10 teams scored a perfect 1000 in the APR from 2013-14 to 2016-17.
This marks the most top-10 percent awards Carolina has earned in a year in the 13-year history of the APR. Carolina had eight teams honored two other times, including last year.
Stanford leads all Power 5 schools with 17 top-10 programs and is followed nationally by Notre Dame (13), Boston College (12), Northwestern (12), Duke (11), UNC (10), Michigan (10), LSU (9), Illinois (8) and Rutgers (8).
In the ACC, Notre Dame, BC, Duke and Carolina have the most teams in the top 10 percent in their respective sports. Clemson and Virginia are next with seven apiece. Georgia Tech, Louisville and Syracuse have five, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have four, and Miami, NC State and Pitt have three.
Carolina’s women’s fencing has earned a Public Recognition Award in each of the last 13 years, one of 85 programs across the country to have been honored every year.
Volleyball is being honored for the 12th straight year and gymnastics earned its ninth consecutive top-10 finish.
The men’s basketball team earned its sixth top-10 award and its first in seven years.
Women’s tennis and men’s tennis are being honored for the fifth and fourth years in a row, respectively, and men’s cross country and men’s soccer for the second time in as many years.
These are the first top-10 percent awards for men’s golf and women’s lacrosse.
The APR measures a team’s academic success by tracking the progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation. This year’s awards are based on multi-year rates from data including 2013-14 to 2016-17.
The Power 5 conferences include the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12 and Southeastern Conference.
