ALABAMA A&M LANDS 155 STUDENT-ATHLETES ON SWAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

General 8/2/2018 4:13:00 PM aamusportsinfo

ALABAMA A&M LANDS 155 STUDENT-ATHLETES ON SWAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

HUNTSVILLE - 155 Alabama A&M student-athletes were honored for their performance in the classroom by being named to the 2017-18 Southwestern Athletic Conference All-Academic team among 1,400 student-athletes from the conference's 10 member institutions.

Additionally, eight of the 10 member institutions raised their total number of all-academic honorees: Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Grambling State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern University and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Alabama A&M football program placed 24 honorees on the All-Academic Team, followed by softball with 20 honorees. Other teams represented included soccer (18), baseball (16), women's track/cross country (15), volleyball (12), women's basketball (11), men's tennis (10), men's track/cross country (9), women's tennis (7), bowling (5), men's basketball (4) and golf (4).

"We have outstanding student-athletes. It is our goal to continue to ensure that they are receiving the best quality education, and we are very proud of our student-athletes," Director of Athletics Bryan Hicks Said.

In order to qualify for the team, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. Along with the individual success for the Bulldogs, nine teams recorded a 3.0 or higher grade point average.

"We are so proud of the academic achievements our student-athletes. I want to congratulate our students for their hard work, and thank them for their continued commitment to excel in the classroom," Associate Athletic Director/SWA Monica Jones said.

Put into effect in 2003 as part of an ambitious academic reform effort in Division I, the Academic Progress Rate (APR) holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term.

Currently, teams must maintain a four-year average APR of 930 or a two-year average APR of 940 average to participate in NCAA championships. In 2015-16 and beyond, teams must keep a four-year average APR of 930 to compete in championships.

While the APR is intended as an incentive-based approach, it does come with a progression of penalties for teams that under perform academically over time.

The All-Academic Team is representative of the SWAC's progress, with the increases in training and focus shift towards the academic success of its student-athletes.

Click here to view the SWAC All-Academic honorees.

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