MACOMB, Ill. – Led by the women's tennis and volleyball teams that recently received the NCAA Public Recognition Award for Academic Progress Rate (APR), Western Illinois Athletics turned in another impressive APR report. The NCAA released the academic data on Tuesday (June 11).

In fact, the Leathernecks scored a perfect 1,000 on 39 occasions between multiyear and 2011-12 scores of APR (12), eligibility/retention (15), and graduation (12).

The APR is calculated by allocating points for academic eligibility and retention of student-athletes on athletic scholarships. A team's APR score is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible and multiplied by 1,000. The multiyear number is the average APR score of the four-year cohort spanning 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12.

To learn more about academics and APR, visit www.ncaa.org and click on Academics/Division I. The NCAA Division I APR database is available for the general public to view.

Of the 20 programs, 14 either kept its multiyear rate the same or increased compared to last year's report – including six teams that jumped up by 10 or more points.

“The ultimate goal of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics is graduation. The NCAA recently increased their APR benchmark, and I am happy to say that our student-athletes continue to rise to the challenge of exceeding it,” said Interim Director of Athletics Lisa Melz-Jennings. “That being said, we cannot rest on our laurels. Our student-athletes must remain diligent in the classroom, and our coaches must continue recruiting students that have the desire to succeed on the competition field and in their studies while embodying the University's four core values.”

MULTIYEAR APR TOTALS

1,000 – Women's Tennis

1,000 – Volleyball

993 – Softball

990 – Women's Outdoor Track and Field

989 – Women's Golf

986 – Women's Cross Country

984 – Men's Tennis

979 – Women's Indoor Track and Field

976 – Women's Soccer

974 – Men's Cross Country

973 – Women's Basketball

970 – Men's Outdoor Track and Field

969 – Women's Swimming

964 – Men's Swimming

957 – Men's Basketball

956 – Men's Indoor Track and Field

955 – Men's Golf

951 – Football

941 – Men's Soccer

929 – Baseball