Collegiate Water Polo Association Women’s Teams Rank as Best in 2017-18 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Academic Progress Rate Report

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Academic Progress Rate Database

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) rates as the undisputed center of academic success in Division I women’s water polo as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released the 2017-18 NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate report.

The only water polo conference to better the NCAA average each year since the first APR rankings were released following the 2004-05 season, the CWPA posted a 991 (991.2) APR to best the sport’s average APR for the 14th consecutive year. Further, the NCAA tops all conferences in APR by edging out the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation by 0.2 (991.2-to-991).

Brown University and George Washington University lead the CWPA as the Bears and Colonials join Arizona State University and Villanova University in posting perfect scores of 1000. Bucknell University (993), Princeton University (992), Harvard University (990) and Saint Francis University (98) also bettering the NCAA all sport (983) and NCAA women’s water polo (985) averages.

The University of Michigan (975) completes the CWPA’s seven Division I teams as the league posted a score of 991 (991.2).  The score is the best in the nation as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) schools netted an even 991 average.  The Golden Coast Conference (985), the Big West Conference (982) and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (977) round up the countable conferences.

It is important to note that NCAA Academic Progress Rate reports are not a full examination of academic achievement across the sport as women’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 sport spans Divisions I, II and III, not all of the respective leagues’ membership, including the all-Division II Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), the CWPA’s Division III membership and the all-Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) are excluded from the report.

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.  NCAA members chose the 930 standard because that score predicts, on average, a 50% graduation rate for teams at that APR level.