Texas State junior and former Hays High standout Anna Hernandez, who helped lead the Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament this season, was part of a team recognized nationally for academic excellence. (Photo Courtesy Texas State University)
STAFF REPORTS
The Texas State softball and women’s tennis teams received public recognition awards from the NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program based upon their most recent multi-year Academic Performance Rates (APR). These awards are given each year to teams that rank in the Top 10 APR scores in their sports.
This marks the fourth straight year that the NCAA has publicly recognized the Texas State women’s tennis team and the second consecutive year for the softball team to be honored.
Former Hays High star Anna Hernandez was a junior on this year’s Texas State softball team, which won the Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR. The score measures eligibility and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.
Texas State was one of 30 softball teams to be recognized and one of 93 women’s tennis teams listed in the latest rankings. The Bobcat teams are among 27 teams throughout Texas to receive recognition and one of five universities throughout the state to have multiple teams recognized. The other four Texas schools with multiple teams were Baylor, Rice, Texas and TCU. Texas State also had two of the six Southland Conference teams honored.
Overall, the NCAA publicly recognized 954 teams this year. These include 580 women’s teams and 394 men’s or mixed squads. This is an increase from the 909 teams recognized last year.
Top performing APRs this year ranged from 978 to a perfect 1,000, with the majority of teams earning a perfect APR. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on the number of perfect scores.
Full APRs for all teams, including access to postseason play and penalties for low-performing teams, is scheduled to be released June 20.
