ULM’s Academic Performance Rate among the Best in Sun Belt, NCAA

MONROE, La. – The University of Louisiana Monroe is tops in the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate (APR) in the Sun Belt Conference in three sports and beats the national average in four sports.

Additionally, three sports posted perfect single year APR scores.  Men’s golf, women’s cross country and women’s golf each posted 1000 single year rates. Volleyball beat the NCAA national average with a 985 multi-year rate.

“I am very happy that our student-athletes and coaches are committed to both academic pursuits as well as competitiveness on the playing fields and courts,” said ULM president Dr. Nick J. Bruno. “It is my goal that our student-athletes are prepared for careers after their athletic eligibility is complete.”

Football posted at multi-year rate of 967 to beat all other SBC schools and beat the APR national average of 959 (964 FBS). Men’s golf presented a perfect 1000 multi-year rate to lead all SBC schools and the national average by 13 points.

“I am proud of our student-athletes and coaches for the continued hard work in the classroom,” added Brian Wickstrom, director of athletics. “I would like to thank our support staff for their role in providing great academic support for our teams. Their success in the classroom allows us to achieve our goal of graduating our student-athletes at a high rate.”

The story though is men’s basketball, which posted a multi-year APR of 984 to best all other men’s basketball programs in the SBC and beat the NCAA national average by 20 points.  Warhawk hoops has seen a whopping 127 point jump since the 2011-12 academic year.

“Winning games is important and I understand that, but what our players have done academically is important too and it is something that we are all very proud of,” said Keith Richard, head men’s basketball coach.

Coach Richard has led the program to consecutive post-season appearances, but the turnaround academically may be the best achievement of his coaching career.

Courtesy: ulmwarhawks.com