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| Texas Southern had to sit out the 2012-2013 postseason due to APR issues. (SB Nation photo) |
North Carolina Central and Texas Southern are riding high following their conference championship wins and NCAA Tournament bids, but they are on another list that gives cause for concern. NCCU and TSU are among the eight teams in the NCAA Tourney that aren’t quite meeting APR Academic Standards according to the AP.
The University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport said in its report Monday that eight teams that made the 2014 men’s bracket fall below the NCAA-mandated Academic Progress Rate score of 930, equivalent to a 50 percent graduation rate. Last year six teams didn’t reach that benchmark.
Study author Richard Lapchick said while academic reforms overall have led to positive change, he urged tougher measures. He would like to see the NCAA’s four-year standard raised to a graduation rate equivalent to 60 percent.
This year 88 percent of the teams in the men’s tournament currently graduate at least 60 percent of their players.
Currently, teams scoring below a 925 APR can lose up to 10 percent of their scholarships. Teams can also be subject to penalties for poor academic performance over time.
MEAC and SWAC schools, unfortunately, are no strangers to APR issues. Texas Southern had to sit out postseason play last year due to APR issues. Hopefully both schools can right their ships before the eligibility cops come knocking.
Note:
The article cited in the story, which was written by the Associated Press and posted by ESPN, cited four-year numbers. Based off of those, NCCU and TSU would NOT meet the NCAA Tourney eligibility requirements if the current requirements were in place for THIS tournament. However, both teams are obviously in good standing for the current season.