A Letter From Athletic Director Bob Driscoll Regarding APR For Men’s Basketball
Driscoll addresses some misrepresentations in a recent USA Today article.
March 20, 2014
Dear Friar Fans, Supporters, Alumni and Friends:
Thank you for your continued support of the Friars as we prepare for our NCAA Tournament game against North Carolina on Friday. Your generosity and support has helped us reach our first NCAA tournament in 10 years and will continue to help propel our program to unprecedented heights.
I wanted to publicly address an article that has been circulating regarding the APR and how it is now connected to postseason eligibility. Furthermore, I wanted to point out some of the article’s misrepresentations with regard to our Men’s Basketball Program and our APR performance under these recently adopted APR benchmarks.
The article (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2014/03/17/study-8-ncaa-teams-fall-below-graduation-standard/6534929/) outlines a study conducted by Richard Lapchick which claims that “Teams in this year’s field that would be subject to NCAA-imposed sanctions that could keep them from postseason play are: Cal Poly (925), Coastal Carolina (921), North Carolina Central (903), Oklahoma State (928), Providence (915), Texas Southern (900), Connecticut (897) and Oregon (918).” Even though the scores in this statement are accurate, they aren’t an accurate representation of the actual performance of each of these schools, including Providence College, with regard to the APR and its recently adopted connection to postseason eligibility. Each school mentioned above meets the applicable APR access to postseason benchmarks for 2013-14 postseason competition, which the article does not clearly state. In addition, the article states that “The NCAA recently voted to institute stricter policies with regards to APR performance and postseason participation. The new legislation will require teams to have a four-year APR above 930 to qualify for postseason participation the following year.” This statement is simply not accurate, both because of the timing of the reporting, review and validation of APR data, and because of the way the APR benchmarks are being phased in over several years.
In order to help better understand this recently adopted rule and more accurately portray our Men’s Basketball Program’s APR performance, I have included below a detailed explanation of the recently adopted APR access to postseason rule, when it is reported to the NCAA, validated and made public, which reporting years determine eligibility for postseason competition, and why we are confident that our Men’s Basketball Program at Providence College is primed for continued success in the postseason for years to come.
Thanks again for your support. Please contact me if you have any further questions.
GO FRIARS!
Bob Driscoll Associate Vice President / Director of Athletics
APR – Access to Postseason: General Overview
The APR access to postseason rule was adopted by the NCAA on October 27, 2011 and it established APR benchmarks for all sports to be eligible to participate in postseason competition. These benchmarks were slowly implemented in what the NCAA termed a transitional phase over a few years. Every year, institutions must report all APR data to the NCAA. This reporting deadline is approximately six weeks after the start of classes for the following academic year, which normally falls in mid-October. After the data is submitted, the NCAA reviews and validates the information and publicizes the official scores in June of the following calendar year. Therefore, because the reporting, review and validation process stretches across an entire academic year, the official reporting year and the year the APR score affects eligibility for postseason competition are actually two years apart. For example, the 2011-12 official, publicized APR score determines a team’s postseason eligibility for the 2013-14 year.
Providence College Men’s Basketball APR Timeline
2011-12 The rule was adopted during the 2011-12 academic year, therefore access to 2011-12 postseason competition was not connected to APR performance.
2012-13 In 2012-13, all sports were required to have a multi-year APR score of 900 or a most recent 2-year average of 930 to be eligible for postseason competition.
Publicly Reported APR Year Used: 2010-11
Providence College Multi-Year APR: 925
2013-14 In 2013-14, all sports are required to have a multi-year APR score of 900 or a most recent 2-year average of 930 to be eligible for postseason competition.
Publicly Reported APR Year: 2011-12
Providence College Multi-Year APR: 915
2014-15 In 2014-15, all sports are required to have a multi-year APR score of 930 or a most recent 2-year average of 940 to be eligible for postseason competition.
Publicly Reported APR Year: 2012-13
Providence College Multi-Year APR: 947 (Projected – Official Score to be Released in June 2014)
2015-16 and Beyond In 2015-16 and beyond, all sports are required to have a multi-year APR score of 930 to be eligible for postseason competition.
Publicly Reported APR Year: 2013-14
Providence College Multi-Year APR: TBD
pcbb1917.com - Providence College Basketball 