Collegiate Water Polo Association Programs Headline 2015-16 National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Water Polo Academic Progress Rate Rankings

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Collegiate Water Polo Association administered conferences remain the undisputed centers of academic success in Division I men’s water polo as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) releases the 2015-16 NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate report.

The CWPA, which split into the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (Bucknell University, Connecticut College, Fordham University, Gannon University, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, La Salle University, Mercyhurst University, Monmouth College, Salem International University, United States Naval Academy, Wagner College, Washington & Jefferson College) and Northeast Water Polo Conference (Brown University, Harvard University, Iona College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, St. Francis College Brooklyn ) prior to the 2016 men’s season, maintains its position as home to the nation’s best academic water polo programs.

The only men’s water polo conference with more than five Division I members to tie or better the NCAA average in the sport during 10 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) of the 11 seasons listed in the report from 2005 to 2016, the nine Division I teams (Brown, Bucknell, Fordham, George Washington, Harvard, Iona, Princeton, St. Francis College Brooklyn, Navy) competing during the 2015-16 academic year, as Wagner and La Salle did not field teams until the 2016-17 academic year, outdistanced the rest of the NCAA men’s water polo membership by a seven points (988-to-981). It is one point off the record eight-point margin established by the CWPA in both 2014 (993-to-985) and 2015 (992-to-984) in the APR rankings.

As a whole, the nine CWPA administered institutions’ 988 mark during the 2015-16 academic rates as the fourth highest APR by a men’s water polo conference behind only the CWPA’s own 993 (2013-14), 992 (2014-15) and 990 (2012-13) achievements.  Breaking the CWPA group out based on NWPC and MAWPC lines, the MAWPC establishes the highest conference APR in the history of NCAA men’s water polo as the MAWPC (994), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF, 990), NWPC (983), Western Water Polo Association (WWPA, 978) and Golden Coast Conference (GCC, 966) each broke the 965 mark.

Leading the way for the East Coast contingent are the trio of Brown, Bucknell and Fordham as the Bears, Bison and Rams are the academic equals of Stanford University and 2016 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Champion the University of California of the MPSF in posting perfect scores of 1,000.

Among the conferences, the four MPSF schools (University of Southern California, University of California-Los Angeles, Stanford, California) recorded a 990 average to edge out the CWPA (988) schools as a whole.  However, when broken down to a similar comparison, the four countable Division I MAWPC institutions (Bucknell, Fordham, Navy, George Washington) decimate their West Coast competition by recording record-setting 994 APR.  The NWPC (Brown, Princeton, St. Francis Brooklyn, Harvard, Iona) schools follow with a 983 average as the MAWPC (994), MPSF (990) and NEWPC (983), in addition to the CWPA (988) as a whole, were the only groups to exceed the NCAA Men’s Water Polo average APR of 981.  The WWPA (978) institutions of Loyola Marymount University, Santa Clara University, the University of California-Davis and the United States Air Froce Academy along with the Golden Coast Conference (966) schools of Long Beach State University, the University of California-Irvine, Pepperdine University, the University of the Pacific, San Jose State University and the University of California-Santa Barbara round out the remaining men’s varsity conferences by finishing below the NCAA men’s water polo average APR.

As a group, water polo is tied with tennis for the seventh highest average APR of any men’s sport in the NCAA at 981 as gymnastics (990), volleyball (988), skiing (987), ice hockey (986), rifle (co-ed, 984) and golf (984) rank higher.  Behind water polo and tennis stand swimming (979), cross country (979), lacrosse (979), soccer (977), wrestling (973), baseball (973), fencing (972), track & field (971), bowl series football (966), basketball (966) and championship series football (957).

As a group, the average NCAA varsity program, considering both men’s and women’s varsity teams, posted a 981 APR, up two points from the 2014-15 numbers.

However, NCAA Academic Progress Rate reports are not a full examination of academic achievement across the sport as men’s water polo, although sponsored by a number of Division I institutions, is considered a non-divisional sport due to the lack of a unique NCAA Division II or III championship. Since the programs that compete in the CWPA, WWPA and Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) span Divisions I, II and III, not all of the respective league’s membership are listed in the report.

For example, the league’s Division II members (Gannon, Mercyhurst, Salem International) and Division III programs (Johns Hopkins, Connecticut, Washington & Jefferson, Monmouth, MIT) are not factored due to their divisional classification.

A measuring stick for the NCAA in determining academic success, the APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.

Each student-athlete receiving athletically related financial aid earns one retention point for staying in school and one eligibility point for being academically eligible. A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by one thousand to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate score.

The NCAA calculates the rate as a rolling, four-year figure that takes into account all the points student-athletes could earn for remaining in school and academically eligible during that period. Teams that do not earn an Academic Progress Rate above specific benchmarks face penalties ranging from scholarship reductions to more severe sanctions.

Teams must earn a 930 four-year average APR or face consequences intended to direct additional focus on academics.  Those penalties can include practice restrictions and playing-season reductions with the intent to fill time that would have been spent on athletics with academic activities.