APR Results Are In

The newest APR results have been released by the NCAA. You might remember that the APR is tabulated each academic year, and is based on the eligibility, retention and graduation of each of a school’s scholarship athletes. An APR of 925 supposedly projects to an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of approximately 60 percent. Teams that score below 925 and have a student leave school academically ineligible can then lose up to 10 percent of their scholarships.

Here is how Big 12 football teams shake out in terms of APR:

Oklahoma: 942
Texas: 942
Nebraska: 941
Missouri: 939
Baylor: 938
Kansas State: 935
Oklahoma State: 935
Texas A&M: 932
Colorado: 929
Texas Tech: 928
Iowa State: 927
Kansas: 919

Great so OU and UT dominate the conference in this too? That makes me want to rip their nuts off.

Kansas is the only Big 12 football team in APR hot water and will lose two scholarships for its score. Washington State is the only other BCS program to receive a penalty and the Cougars will lose eight scholarships after scoring an abysmal 916.

It is also important to note that Bo Pelini’s contract includes incentives based upon Nebraska’s future APR results.

Pelini would be paid $125,000 if the program's graduation rate is equal to or greater than that of the general student body. Pelini also can earn bonuses based on the program's Academic Performance Rating, which the NCAA uses to measure athletes' progress toward graduation.

Athletic director Tom Osborne said he expects an academic bonus payment to Pelini to be “fairly automatic” each year.

Pelini, an academic All-American at Ohio State in the late 1980s, was widely reported to have walked around the Nebraska campus on the first day of the spring semester to make sure players were attending classes.

“He values education, and I think he and I both agree that's part of the job,” Osborne said. “If that clause wasn't in there, I don't think it would make a bit of difference in how Bo does his business.”

As someone who teaches an undergraduate course (ditto for Dr. D), I'm extremely interested in the academic life of student-athletes. I love that the NCAA is attempting to do something to get things in check, although the argument could be made that they're going about it in the wrong manner. I'm also pleased that we have a head coach and an athletic director that value academics and will continue the fine tradition of turning out student-athletes in Lincoln.

Incidentally, why doesn't Huskers.com have something up about this?