CMU athletics pass APR score in all sports: Softball receives perfect score, other teams last in MAC
The NCAA has released its 2012-13 Academic Progress Rates and Central Michigan University's 16 varsity sports have all surpassed the 900 point mark.
The APR is a "team-based metric that accounts for eligibility and retention for each student-athlete, each term," according to ncaa.org.
Under the APR system, each program receives a finite score and must receive a score of at least 900 in two sequential years. A team can also get by with a 930 average in the past two seasons.
Starting next year, the minimum will be raised to 930 with a 940 average in the last two seasons.
The football program made the biggest improvement in 2012-13, increasing their score from 937 in 2011-12 to 956.
"Those scores are based on four and five years and you have to get through the lower years," said head football coach Dan Enos. "We have one more lower year to get through and then you'll see our scores continue to jump."
For the second straight season, CMU's softball program scored the best with a perfect score of 1,000, a three-point increase from last year's score.
The softball team is one of 12 Mid-American Conference programs to post a perfect score, including Ohio softball who joins the Chippewas with the top score in MAC softball.
Unfortunately, the softball is the only program at CMU to claim the No. 1 spot in its respective sport: Six programs posted some of the MAC's worst scores.
Women's basketball (963), men's cross-country (945), men's outdoor track and field (951), gymnastics (974), women's indoor track and field (973) and women's outdoor track and field (973) all were at the bottom of the MAC as women's basketball tied with Ball State University. Women's indoor track tied with Bowling Green University.
Posting the biggest drop off was men's outdoor track, whose 951 score was nine points lower than the previous season. Men's cross-country's score of 945 was the worst posted by a CMU program.
Aside from CMU teams, Buffalo's wrestling program is at risk of facing a penalty with a score of 925. While this serves as a passing grade for this season, they could be at risk of back-to-back seasons below the new minimum 930 mark.
Despite football's improved score, it actually dropped from No. 8 to No. 9 in the MAC as many other schools improved around it as well. Toledo scored a MAC football-high score of 985, while Massachusetts scored a conference low of 928.
Men's basketball also improved its score 10 points as its 949 was good enough to boost it from No. 10 to No. 9 in the conference.
Field hockey was No. 2 in the conference with a score of 978, two spots higher than last season behind Ohio's 994. Baseball scored a 970, good for No. 7 and five points better than last year. Wrestling improved nine points and also finished No. 7 with a 953 score.
Women's soccer was No. 11 in the MAC with a score of 979, six points higher than last season. Volleyball also improved its score five points to 976, but remained near the bottom of the MAC at No. 11.
Men's indoor track and field dropped five points to score 951 and remain No. 4 out of five in the conference.
