Three Nebraska athletic teams have been recognized by the NCAA with a public recognition award for their respective multi-year Academic Progress Rate scores. The Nebraska women’s basketball, women’s golf and women’s cross country programs were among the teams nationally honored on Wednesday for their academic success.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
The NCAA is honoring NCAA Division I sports teams with public recognition awards for their latest multi-year NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). These teams posted multi-year APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. The public recognition awards are part of the broad Division I academic reform effort.
The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester 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.
Coach Connie Yori’s women’s basketball team has a history of academic success. In 2008, Nebraska was one of just 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament with a 100 percent graduation rate. The women's basketball program has also advanced to a school-record six consecutive postseason tournaments during Yori's tenure at Nebraska.
Robin Krapfl’s women’s golf team is annually one of the nation’s top academic teams. Nebraska leads the nation with 50 NGCA Scholastic All-Americans all-time and in 2006-07, NU produced the fifth-best team grade-point average in all of collegiate golf. Each of Nebraska’s five returning letterwinners in 2008-09 owned individual GPA’s of better than 3.4.
In 2008, Coach Jay Dirksen’s Nebraska women’s cross country team made its first trip to the NCAA Championships since 2003. The Huskers finished 25th in the 31-team field, marking the team’s top finish since 1999 when it finished 16th. In the classroom, the team combined for a GPA of 3.664, earning it All-Academic team honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Of the 160 teams honored, the Husker women ranked sixth.