Two local men’s college basketball programs drew penalties when the NCAA released its latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) statistics Tuesday.
Georgia Tech was penalized with the loss of one scholarship — a sanction the Yellow Jackets already had self-imposed — and Kennesaw State was hit with the loss of two scholarships and a reduction of practice time.
Both programs’ multi-year APR scores fell below the NCAA cutoff.
The APR is an NCAA-designed measure that assesses the eligibility, retention and graduation of Division I athletes over a four-year period. Teams that score below 925 on a 1,000-point scale can be subject to penalties. The figures released Tuesday were based on the 2006-07 through 2009-10 academic years.
Tech and Kennesaw State did not draw penalties in any sports other than men’s basketball. Georgia and Georgia State had no teams penalized.
Tech’s men’s basketball team posted a four-year APR of 915, the lowest among the 12 ACC teams. Despite a one-year score of 960 in 2009-10, the Jackets were pulled below the NCAA cutoff by a single-year score of 840 in 2007-08. Anticipating the penalty, Tech docked itself one scholarship this past season, meaning new coach Brian Gregory will have a full allotment of scholarships for his first season.
Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich said he is satisfied “on the whole” with the progress the basketball team has made in the classroom since its 840 score three years ago.
“The APR numbers continue to climb,” Radakovich said. “While we had that one number that will hold us down a little bit until it rolls off, the other numbers that we have are showing very good progress.”
The Kennesaw State men’s basketball team failed to meet the NCAA minimum for the fourth consecutive year. As a result of a four-year average score of 874, the 2011-12 Owls will lose two scholarships, one day per week of practice and a reduction from 20 to 16 hours of weekly “contact time” between players and coaches.
The academic issues were the primary reason former Owls coach Tony Ingle was fired after this past season.
Recently hired Kennesaw State athletic director Vaughn Williams said he and recently hired basketball coach Lewis Preston will put together a plan by this summer to deal with the reduction in practice and contact time.
“We knew what was coming,” Williams said. “You always hope it will be better than it was. We’ve been planning for it and will move forward.”
Kennesaw State’s athletics department two months ago hired an academic counselor to work exclusively with the men’s basketball team. Each player has been assigned to an assistant coach who will monitor the player’s academic performance.
“We will be more accountable by monitoring it more closely and making sure that everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do,” Williams said.
At Georgia, all of the Bulldogs teams posted APR scores above the 925 cutoff, including 976 in football and 946 in men’s basketball. In football, Georgia tied Florida for the second best APR in the SEC, one point behind Vanderbilt’s 977. In men’s basketball, UGA’s score ranked eighth among SEC teams.
Tech’s football team had an APR of 966, which ranked sixth in the ACC.
Georgia State did not receive an APR in football because of the program’s short history. The Panthers’ men’s basketball team scored 946.
About the Author
