BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released the Academic Progress Rate (APR) report and list of APR Public Recognition awards for Division I sports through the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year. The national four-year Academic Progress Rate for Division I teams remained steady at 984 for a fourth consecutive year with women’s water polo rating above average with a 986.8 (987) score.
Dave Schnase, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs, said, “As the college athletics landscape continues to evolve, what remains unchanged is the academic success of student-athletes. We applaud the incredible academic achievements of hundreds of thousands of student-athletes and the support provided by their schools. We are committed to supporting the continued advancement of their academic success and athletic pursuits.”
In women’s water polo, four teams of the 36 eligible institutions posted perfect scores (1000) to claim Public Recognition Awards as the University of Michigan of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) is joined by the University of California-Berkeley of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Villanova University of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and University of the Pacific of the Golden Coast Conference.
California Baptist University (Golden Coast Conference) and the University of Southern California (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) are tied at No. 5, while Harvard University (995) joins fellow CWPA institution Michigan in the Top 10 as the Crimson are tied for seventh with La Sale University (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), Long Beach State University (Big West Conference), the University of California-Davis (Big West Conference) and the University of California-San Diego (Big West Conference).
Bucknell University (992) and Saint Francis University (990) rate at No. 14 and 18, respectively, as both join Michigan and Harvard in besting the sport average of 987.
Princeton University (985) is tied with Santa Clara University (Golden Coast Conference) and the University of California-Santa Barbara at No. 23. Brown University (983) completes the CWPA institutions at No. 27
Among women’s sports, water polo (987) rates 16th in NCAA APR for the four-year period of 2020-21 to 2023-24 behind skiing (997), lacrosse (994), gymnastics (994), beach volleyball (994), golf (993), ice hockey (993), swimming (992), tennis (992), volleyball (990), fencing (989), field hockey (989), soccer (989), cross country (989), rowing (988) and softball (988). Bowling (984), track & field (984) and basketball (982) trail water polo to complete the list of sports.
Each academic year, every Division I sports team’s APR is calculated using a simple and consistent formula. Scholarship student-athletes can earn one point for staying on course for a degree in their chosen major and one point for being retained (or graduating) at the end of each academic term. For schools that do not offer athletics scholarships, recruited student-athletes are tracked.
This is the fourth consecutive year of publicly reported APRs after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the Division I board approved the release of APR scores but voted to continue the suspension of program penalties. Normal Academic Performance Program operations with program penalties and loss of access to postseason competition were originally scheduled to resume in Spring 2024, but the Division I Committee on Academics decided not to enforce the loss of access to postseason competition for teams that scored lower than 930 last year, instead offering a conditional waiver due to lingering impacts of the pandemic.
However, normal operations are being enforced this year for teams scoring below the 930 benchmark, with strategic penalties that encourage an emphasis and prioritization on academics.
A full list of APRs for each team can be accessed by using the APR searchable database.
| 2023-24 NCAA APR (Women’s Water Polo) | ||
| School | Multi-Year Rate | Conference |
| University of California, Berkeley | 1000 | MPSF |
| University of Michigan | 1000 | CWPA |
| University of the Pacific | 1000 | Golden Coast |
| Villanova University | 1000 | MAAC |
| California Baptist University | 996 | Golden Coast |
| University of Southern California | 996 | MPSF |
| Harvard University | 995 | CWPA |
| La Salle University | 995 | MAAC |
| Long Beach State University | 995 | Big West |
| University of California, Davis | 995 | Big West |
| University of California, San Diego | 995 | Big West |
| Loyola Marymount University | 994 | Golden Coast |
| California State University, Northridge | 993 | Big West |
| Bucknell University | 992 | CWPA |
| Arizona State University | 991 | MPSF |
| San Jose State University | 991 | MPSF |
| Wagner College | 991 | MAAC |
| Saint Francis University | 990 | CWPA |
| Iona University | 989 | MAAC |
| AVERAGE | 986.8 | |
| University of California, Irvine | 987 | Golden Coast |
| San Diego State University | 986 | Golden Coast |
| University of California, Los Angeles | 986 | MPSF |
| Princeton University | 985 | CWPA |
| Santa Clara University | 985 | Golden Coast |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | 985 | Big West |
| University of Hawaii, Manoa | 984 | MPSF |
| AVERAGE (ALL SPORTS) | 984 | |
| Brown University | 983 | CWPA |
| Mount St. Mary’s University | 982 | MAAC |
| Stanford University | 981 | MPSF |
| California State University, Fresno | 978 | Golden Coast |
| Virginia Military Institute | 978 | MAAC |
| Long Island University | 975 | MAAC |
| Indiana University, Bloomington | 974 | MPSF |
| California State University, Fullerton | 968 | Big West |
| Marist University | 962 | MAAC |
| Siena College | 955 | MAAC |
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