The coaches have been contacting you for months.  The tweet, texts, direct messages, facebook hits seem endless.  One thing is clear, they want you to come play basketball for them.  They have explained how you fit into their plans and their system.  Now, they are coming to visit you at home and you are taking official visits to their campus.

The coaches have been contacting you for months.  The tweet, texts, direct messages, facebook hits seem endless.  One thing is clear, they want you to come play basketball for them.  They have explained how you fit into their plans and their system.  Now, they are coming to visit you at home and you are taking official visits to their campus.  

They are going to show you the campus, the arena, the locker room, the media room, the weight room, the practice gym, the dormitory, the cafeteria and the pretty girls.  It all feels right.  You are ready to commit.  At this point, you should ask one VERY important question:  Coach, do you graduate your players?

When he gives you a response don’t just take his word for it.  Together with your parents and advisors check the record.  The Academic Progress Rate is a Division I metric developed to track the academic achievement of teams each academic term.  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 above chart lists the A10 programs in order, highest average APR to lowest average APR over an 8 year period spanning 2004-2012.  Using this chart, parents and potential recruits can compare the level of academic achievement across A10 programs.  Also, the average APR data for all Division 1 Men’s Basketball Programs is included for comparative purposes.

Within the A10 Conference, only 4 programs, Fordham, Duquesne, Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure have APR averages below the APR average for all Division 1 basketball programs.

This information is very useful to parents and students weighing scholarship offers from multiple universities.  It provides a way of quickly gauging a program’s ability, over time, to retain players and keep them on track to graduate.  The Black Cager will provide this information for all Division 1 Conferences over the next few weeks.

A10 Average APR Rankings