May 12, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Five Samford University teams have received public recognition awards from the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA released its public recognition awards May 12 for the teams achieving the highest level of academic performance in Division I.

"Samford University places high priority on academic achievement, and we always are pleased when our students excel in the classroom. That our student-athletes excel in both their academic pursuits and in athletics competition is a source of pride for us," J. Bradley Creed, Samford's provost and executive vice president, said.

Samford teams that received the public recognition awards are men's golf, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's golf and women's indoor track and field. This marks the third consecutive year five Samford teams have earned public recognition awards. The men's golf team is the first Samford men's team to earn national recognition.

These teams posted multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in the top 10 percent of all squads nationally in their respective sports. The public recognition awards are part of a broad Division I academic reform effort.

For the 2008-09 school year alone, Samford had 11 teams post perfect scores of 1,000. In the multi-year scores, two teams (women's cross country and women's golf) have scores of 1,000, while all five of the teams receiving recognition have scores of 996 or above.

"The Samford athletics department has always put a high value on academic performance," Samford director of athletics Bob Roller said. "To have five teams earn national recognition three years in a row shows how hard our student-athletes are working in the classroom. We are extremely proud of the academic performance of our teams and we look for them to continue that high level of performance in the future."

Having five teams receive recognition ranks Samford first among Division I schools in the state of Alabama. In the state the University of Alabama, Auburn University, the University of South Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham had one team earn recognition each.

Samford is tied for third among Southern Conference schools. Nine SoCon schools earned public recognition awards, led by Davidson College with 13.

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.

In addition to posting high APR scores, Samford student-athletes have earned many other academic awards this year. Samford had 41 student-athletes named to the SoCon's Academic All-Conference teams so far in the 2009-10 school year (29 in the fall and 12 in the winter). The spring Academic All-Conference team will be announced during the summer.

The university's overall APR scores will be announced by the NCAA later in the spring.

ALABAMA SCHOOLS WITH PUBLIC RECOGNITION AWARDS
SAMFORD 5
Alabama 1
Auburn 1
South Alabama 1
UAB 1

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE SCHOOLS WITH PUBLIC RECOGNITION AWARDS
Davidson 13
Wofford 7
SAMFORD 5
Furman 5
Elon 4
Appalachian State 2
The Citadel 2
UNC Greensboro 2
Western Carolina 1