Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Men’s and women’s hockey again score well in classroom

Latest APR data unveiled recently by NCAA

Men’s and women’s hockey again score well in classroom
Former Northeastern captain Aidan McDonough and current Vancouver Canuck Aidan McDonough receives his college diploma (Photo: NU Athletics).

The sports of NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey continue to make the grade in the classroom according to Academic Progress Rate (APR) data recently released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Women’s hockey’s four-year average score from 2018-22 was 991 while men’s hockey scored 984, placing both among the top 10 among all sports. Men’s hockey’s most recent single-year APR score of 980 for 2021-22 ranked sixth-best among men’s sports with 50 or more teams.

Additionally, the four-year eligibility rate for both women’s hockey (994) and men’s hockey (988) placed both among the top six of all women’s and men’s sports, respectively.

The APR, created in 2003 to measure Division I schools and teams on their student-athletes’ success in the classroom, awards points to teams based on students’ grades, their progress toward their degree and for staying in school. Teams are also rewarded in the APR for students who return to school to complete their degree.

The APR is related – but not identical – to the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR), serving in a way as a predictor of GSR success. Women’s hockey had a 98-percent graduation rate in the most recent study, tied for the best among women’s sports, while men’s hockey’s boasted a 92-percent graduation rate, fifth-best among men’s sports.

The calculation of APR also rewards teams when former student-athletes return to school to complete their degree. In recent years, current National Hockey League players like Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College), Jack Johnson (Michigan), Logan O’Connor (Denver) and Jake Oettinger (Boston University) have completed their undergraduate degrees despite having left school early to play professionally.

Nine women’s programs – Boston College, Boston University, Brown, Quinnipiac, Syracuse, Minnesota Duluth, New Hampshire, Vermont and Yale – logged perfect multi-year average APR scores of 1,000. Eighty-three percent of all women’s teams (30 of 36) included in the study had multi-year scores above 980 while two-thirds (24 of 36) had scores of at least 990.

Six men’s teams – Bowling Green, Canisius, Penn State, Princeton, Notre Dame and Yale – had perfect multi-year average APR scores of 1,000. Seventy-three percent of all men’s teams (43 of 59) included in the study had multi-year APR scores above 980 and nearly half (24 of 59) had scores of at least 990.

For more information, visit NCAA.org.