Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Boise State Student-Athletes Among the Elite in the Nation

We've heard all the knocks on student-athletes:  they take easy courses, are baby-sat, are only in college for one thing, etc., etc., etc.  

No one can say that about Boise State.  For the second consecutive year, the Bronco football team posted the second-highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) in the nation, the NCAA announced today.  The analysis covers a four-year period for the academic years 2008-09 through 2011-12.  The Boise State football team compiled an APR score of 993, trailing only Northwestern, and of course far better than any school in the PAC-12.  Last year, Boise State tied with Duke for second with an APR of 989, and behind Northwestern (995).

The APR tracks the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship, taking into account eligibility, retention and graduation.

In addition to football, Boise State's men's cross-country (990), men's indoor track and field (985), men's outdoor track and field (979) and swimming and diving (991) programs recorded scored that led the Mountain West Conference.  All told, eight Boise State programs set school records for four-year APR:  football, men's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field, swimming and diving, women's golf (992), soccer (986), softball (963) and wrestling (950).

Ten of Boise State's programs had perfect scores for 2011-12:  women's basketball, men's cross country, women's cross country, women's golf, men's tennis, women's tennis, soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling.

Boise State's overall score was 977, meaning the school earned 97.7% of possible points over the last four years.