Twenty-One UNC Sports Exceed APR National Average

The University of North Carolina men's basketball team registered its fourth consecutive 1000 in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate and the football team improved its score in the APR for the fourth consecutive year. The NCAA released APR scores on Wednesday for 2016-17 and four-year ratings for all sports.

Every one of Carolina's 28 teams had a score of at least 960 in the four-year rating. Baseball, men's basketball and women's basketball were among 21 Tar Heel programs whose multi-year APRs exceed the national scores for their respective sports.

Carolina's all-sport rate for 2016-17 was 987, the fourth consecutive year the Tar Heels' all-sport rate exceeded 980. UNC had reached the 980-mark twice in the APR's first 10 years. This is the fifth time in the last six years UNC's single-year rate has increased from the previous year.

Carolina's four-year average for all sports is 990, compared to the NCAA's overall four-year average of 983.

Men's basketball was one of 10 Tar Heel varsity athletic teams that achieved a perfect 1000 four-year rate in the APR.

The 10 teams to score a 1000 over the last four years are men's basketball, men's cross country, women's fencing, men's golf, gymnastics, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, men's and women's tennis and volleyball. The NCAA recognized those teams on May 16th with awards for finishing in the top 10 percent in the country in the APR in their respective sports. The 10 sports were the most UNC programs to receive a top-10 percent award in a single-season. They also marked the highest number of programs honored among public institutions in the Atlantic Coast Conference and equaled the sixth most among all Power 5 schools.

In addition to those 10, five other UNC teams scored 1000 in 2016-17 – women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving and men's track and field.

The NCAA uses the Academic Progress Rate to track the academic performance of scholarship students who compete on varsity teams. The score measures eligibility and retention each semester by student athletes at every NCAA institution. The APRs released today include single-year scores for 2016-17 and four-year rates that reflect scores from the 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years.

This is the 14^th year the NCAA has used the APR as a tool to track academic performance. Carolina women's fencing, gymnastics and volleyball earned 1000s for the 13^th time and men's and women's tennis scored their 11^th perfect marks.

Football's APR has increased from 948 in 2013-14 to 951 in 2014-15, 961 in 2015-16 and 972 in 2016-17, its second-highest single-year score in APR history.

"Our student-athletes, coaches and staff should be proud of these results and proud of their effort and commitment to academic excellence," says Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. "Our coaches identify and recruit men and women who can succeed at a world-class university, and our students put in a tremendous amount of time and hard work to reach their goals. It's good to see that three-quarters of our teams exceed their respective sports' national averages, it was great to have 10 teams in the top-10 percent, and it's encouraging to see improvement across the board."

Related Videos