For the fourth consecutive year, five Kent State teams (gymnastics, volleyball, softball, women's cross country and women's golf) received NCAA Public Recognition Awards for outstanding academic performance, the most by any Mid-American Conference institution. Field hockey and women's track & field joined the five recognized teams among the seven Kent State programs to rank No. 1 among their MAC peers in multiyear APR.
Public Recognition Awards are based on a program's most recent (four-year) multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR), awarded to teams posting scores in the top 10 percent of their sport. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams, measuring eligibility, graduation and retention.
"The APR results are yet another testimony of the strong academic emphasis Kent State places on the student-athletes," Associate Athletic Director for Academic Services Angie Hull said. 'The first words of our mission are "Graduating student-athletes" and our students work toward that goal daily through the support provided by the University, our coaches and the athletic administration.'
Football and soccer gave the Golden Flashes nine teams ranked in the MAC's top three spots of their respective sports. Baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball and wrestling also had high finishes, putting 13 of the Flashes' 16 programs among the top five in the conference.
Kent State's women's cross country team is among the elite teams in the nation to be recognized in each of the 13 years of the Public Recognition program.
Eight Kent State teams (gymnastics, volleyball, women's cross country, women's golf, soccer, men's cross country, softball, women's track & field) posted perfect single-year scores of 1,000 for the 2016-17 academic year. Last year also saw 10 Flashes' teams maintain or improve from the previous season.
Each of the five teams that received NCAA accolades, did so with perfect multi-year scores of 1,000.
NCAA Public Recognition By Institution:
Kent State (5) - Women's Softball; Women's Cross Country; Women's Golf; Women's Gymnastics; Women's Volleyball
Bowling Green (4) - Men's Cross Country; Men's Golf; Women's Golf; Women's Gymnastics
Toledo (4) - Women's Basketball; Women's Golf; Women's Tennis; Men's Tennis
Miami (3) - Men's Golf; Women's Basketball; Women's Volleyball
Ohio (3) - Women's Basketball; Women's Cross Country; Women's Golf
Eastern Michigan (2) - Men's Cross Country; Women's Volleyball
Northern Illinois (2) - Men's Tennis; Women's Gymnastics
Akron (2) - Women's Cross Country; Women's Tennis
Ball State (1) - Women's Tennis
Buffalo (1) - Women's Tennis
Buffalo (1) - Men's Tennis
Central Michigan (1) - Women's Golf
*Missouri State (1) - Men's Swimming and Diving (*affiliate member)
Western Michigan (1) - Men's Tennis
Every Kent State team had a multi-year APR rate above 930 (lowest was 952) and will not be subject to NCAA penalties.
The Flashes' APR recognition comes on the heels of a spring semester that saw a 13th consecutive department term grade point average above a 3.0.
