HAMDEN, Conn. – The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) today announced the 712 Division I sports teams it is honoring with public recognition awards for their latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores. Two teams at Quinnipiac University have earned this prestigious distinction – baseball and women’s basketball, which both posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. The public recognition awards are part of the NCAA’s broad Division I academic reform effort.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention and graduation in its calculation, and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. High-performing teams receiving awards posted APR scores ranging from 965 to a perfect 1,000.

“Congratulations to these teams and their student-athletes for success in the classroom,” said Myles Brand, NCAA President. “They are setting a great example for their peers and future student-athletes, as well.”

“We are once again very pleased with the continued academic success of our teams overall,” said Jack McDonald, Quinnipiac University director of athletics and recreation. “And we are particularly proud of our women’s basketball and men’s baseball teams for being recognized by the NCAA for their perfect academic progress rate.”

The teams recognized by the NCAA this year for high achievement represent 11.4 percent of the approximately 6,272 Division I teams. The list includes 401 women’s teams and 311 men’s or mixed squads. A total of 192 institutions, out of 329 Division I colleges and universities, placed at least one team on the top APR list.

Last year, a total of 839 teams were recognized. There are fewer awards this year due to fewer teams receiving perfect scores. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent dependent upon how many achieved perfect 1,000 APR scores. In some sports, teams had to maintain a perfect score over the four-year period in order to be recognized.

Multi-year APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving public recognition awards, will be announced May 6.