West Virginia athletic department excels in classroom, earns highest APR score ever

Earlier this summer, the NCAA released their Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, with WVU hitting a combined score of 991 It marks the athletic department’s highest score over the course of the 20 years that the NCAA has tracked the statistic.

WVU's 991 total is also seven points higher than the NCAA's overall four-year APR average score of 984. The program has shown immense growth over the past decade in the statistical category, with their 2023-2024 score jumping six points from four years ago and 17 points from nine years ago. 

"Our teams continue to excel in the classroom and in competition, and our record score of 991 shows the job being done by our student-athletes, our student-athlete academic services unit, our coaching staffs and our support staffs," Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker said. "To have six teams with perfect four-year scores is certainly impressive, and I would like to congratulate our cross country, gymnastics, rifle, men's swimming & diving, women's swimming & diving and track & field teams for reaching that mark. We are all proud of the high level of academic success with our student-athletes and their commitment to West Virginia University."

The NCAA calculates APR based upon a school’s ability to keep their athletes eligible and retain those students from semester to semester. Each year, the score is calculated for both the fall and spring semesters, and then that combined number is averaged with scores over the previous three year period to provide a four-year look at how well the institution’s athletes succeed academically. 

Any athlete receiving athletic aid in a varsity sport is eligible to earn up to four points per year for being academically eligible and remaining enrolled in the institution, with each program’s score being calculated by taking the roster’s total points, dividing it by total possible points, and multiplying the final number by 1,000.