Men's basketball among three MSU teams with perfect APR scores

Three of Michigan State’s 23 varsity athletic teams scored a perfect 1,000 in Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released Wednesday by the NCAA as part of the annual Division I Academic Performance Program. The report is based on four-year calculations of data from the 2013-14 through 2016-17 academic years.

Men’s basketball, men’s cross country and men’s swimming and diving all earned a score of 1,000. It is the third straight year the men’s basketball team has achieved a perfect score.

While Michigan State was the only Big Ten school to score 1,000 in men’s basketball, the football team saw its score drop from 974 last year to 952, the lowest in the Big Ten.

The APR is a real-time measure of a team's academic performance and is calculated by reviewing variables such as eligibility, retention and graduation rates of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team. In order to compete in the 2018-19 postseason, teams must achieve a 930 four-year APR.

In 2018-19, nine Division I teams will be ineligible for the postseason due to their low APR, down from 17 teams last year. A dozen teams will take penalties in 2018-19 for not meeting the minimum academic standard set by member schools. Most of the teams ineligible for postseason play also are among those subject to penalties. In 2017-18, 26 teams were subject to penalties.