INDIANAPOLIS - Five IUPUI athletics programs have earned public recognition on Wednesday (May 1) from the NCAA as the national office recognized programs that finished among the top 10 percent nationally in Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their respective sports. The IUPUI men's golf, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's tennis and volleyball programs were all recognized by the NCAA while IUPUI's five programs earning plaudits tied with Northern Kentucky for tops in the Horizon League. 

IUPUI tied for third among the 10 Division I schools in the state of Indiana, trailing only Notre Dame (14) and Valparaiso (7) in programs honored. The most recent cohort covered classes from 2014-15 through 2017-18. 

"This APR recognition from the NCAA is the result of hard work by student-athletes in the classroom and the dedication of coaches and staff to strive for academic performance," said Denise O'Grady, IUPUI's Associate AD for Academics. "I'm excited that the IUPUI Athletics program is receiving these well-deserved accolades."

Implemented in 2003 as part of an ambitious academic reform effort in Division I, the APR holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term. The APR emerged when Division I presidents and chancellors sought a more timely assessment of academic success at colleges and universities. At the time, the best measure was the graduation rate calculated under the federally mandated methodology that was based on a six-year window and did not take transfers into account. The APR system includes rewards for superior academic performance and penalties for teams that do not achieve certain academic benchmarks. Data are collected annually, and results are announced in the spring.

Perenially, IUPUI has outperformed the national averages in the APR, as evidenced by five public recognitions. 

Head coach Jamie Broce's men's golf program was the lone men's team in the Horizon League to be honored and collected the award for the fourth straight year. Head coach Brian Barnett's men's soccer team was also the lone Horizon League honoree and the first in program history. 

Head coach Chris Johnson's women's soccer program earned the award for a sixth consecutive year and was also the lone Horizon League women's soccer award winner. Head coach Marisa Arce's women's tennis team won the award for a third straight year while head coach Lindsey Buteyn inherits a volleyball program that has now earned five straight accolades and seven total since the public recognitions began in 2004-2005. 

The full NCAA APR announcement will be released a week from today on Wednesday, May 8.