Men's Cross Country Team Earns APR Recognition Award

BOULDER - The University of Colorado men's cross country team, which captured the school's second straight national championship in the sport last November, has been honored with the ultimate NCAA academic honor for a team - the APR Public Recognition Award.

(The honor is for the four-year period ending with 2013-14 school year, as the annual recognition of this honor runs about a year behind due to the time it takes to collect all the necessary data.)

Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and highlights teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports.

Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport. The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and is a predictor of graduation rates.

"I am very proud of our student-athletes and how they represent this University," CU athletic director Rick George said. "This recognition from the NCAA is another acknowledgement of the outstanding efforts of our student-athletes, coaches and staff."

Dr. David Clough, CU's Faculty Athletics Representative to the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA, and who is considered one of the nation's leading authorities on APR, echoed George's feeling of pride for the school.

"It is always a notable accomplishment when one of our teams achieves this recognition from the NCAA, in this case because of a perfect 1000 four-year APR score," he said. "But it is a singular accomplishment when it is a team that also captured the NCAA Championship. This represents the pinnacle of accomplishment in athletics and academics."

Both coach Mark Wetmore's men's and women's cross country teams were also honored with the award for the 2012-13 academic year; that year the men finished third in the nation and the women 24th.

"The men had a great year athletically and academically," Wetmore said. "The award reflects the hard work they did in training and in the classroom."

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