BIG EAST Ranks Third Among D-I Conferences in NCAA's APR Report - Big East Conference Skip To Main Content

Big East Conference

The BIG EAST Conference The Official Website of The BIG EAST Conference

Members

General

BIG EAST Ranks Third Among D-I Conferences in NCAA's APR Report

NCAA Recognizes 60 BIG EAST Teams for Academic Excellence

NEW YORK – In the NCAA’s annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) report, the BIG EAST is ranked third among the 32 Division I conferences with an overall APR rate of 989.  The BIG EAST has been consistently ranked in the top three since the league’s reconfiguration in the 2013-14 academic year.  Additionally, 60 BIG EAST athletic teams have been recognized by the NCAA for their outstanding academic achievement.

The BIG EAST is also third, behind only the Ivy League and Patriot League, with 39 percent of its teams receiving APR awards.
To receive special recognition, teams must compile scores in the top 10 percent of their sport, based on their most recent Academic Progress Rates (APR).  The APR is the NCAA’s annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for Division I sports.  The most recent APR results are multi-year rates from the 2015-16 academic year through 2018-19.

The APR measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or academic term and provides a clear picture of the ongoing academic performance for each team in every sport.  This is the 15th year that the APR data has been compiled for Division I schools.  Six BIG EAST women’s squads have earned Public Recognition Awards (top 10% of their sports) in all 15 years of the APR program.  They are: Butler golf, Butler tennis, DePaul basketball, Georgetown field hockey and swimming and diving and Xavier tennis.

Thirty-six BIG EAST women’s programs were recognized and 24 men’s programs were honored.   All six schools that compete in BIG EAST women’s golf were honored.  Women’s tennis and women’s cross country had five teams each.  On the men’s side, the leaders were tennis and cross country with four teams each. 

Villanova has 14 recognized teams overall, the highest total for a BIG EAST school.  The Wildcats’ 14 teams represent 64 percent of the Villanova athletic department.  The Wildcats are also ranked among the top 10 percent of schools nationally in total number of teams ranked. 

Georgetown is second with 11 recognized teams.  The Hoyas have had more than 10 teams honored every year of the award’s 15-year existence.