NCAA’s APR Could Affect Sioux Hockey

[star2city]

Earlier this year, the NCAA planned to implement Academic Performance Ratings (APR) for all Division I schools in all sports. A minimum APR rating of 925 is required for individual school sports, otherwise that sport could be penalized with losses of scholarships. For DI schools that routinely lose sophomores/juniors to professional ranks, the APR ratings can drop substantially, as the schools get penalized for early-out professional players who never graduated.

As great as NHL draft was for UND signees, the APR formula has to be changed in order to UND’s APR school not to drop substantially with the likely number of early-out players. UND’s most recent score for hockey was 960: http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/apr2/494_2004_apr.pdf

In this case, UND had better hope that big boys of Florida/Ohio State/Michigan/Texas get their way on the APR change. Just yesterday, there were these stories on changing the APR formula:

Indianapolis Star

USA Today

NCAA: Teams shouldn't pay for early departures

By Thomas O'Toole, USA TODAY

Responding to concerns raised by coaches, an NCAA committee is recommending that athletes who leave college early to turn professional would not hurt their teams' academic ratings provided they are in good standing.

Walt Harrison, president of Hartford and chairman of the Committee on Academic Performance, said Thursday that input from coaches in sports such as football, basketball and baseball contributed "a considerable amount" to a change in the way the new Academic Performance Rate for individual teams is compiled.

Here's a reference to the APR from the NCAA:http://www2.ncaa.org/academics_and_athlete...reform/faq.html

[jimdahl]

Division I Board makes allowance for early departures.

Presidents on the Division I Board of Directors have agreed to a key adjustment in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) that eases how student-athletes who leave early for the pros while in good academic standing are counted in their team

[ScottM]

Well, this helps take some sting out of the NC$$'s meddling in the nickname issue, which I'm still trying to digest and doesn't look too insurmountable if handled correctly.

Anyway, I believe UND has had a number of hockey players who returned after their pro careers ended, or who still took classes during their careers. I think this will probably benefit the programs who recruit top-draft choices who are only around for 1-2 seasons.