Women’s Sports Pace Strong UCF NCAA APR Numbers

Perfect 1,000 scores for UCF women's teams in cross country, golf and volleyball lead the way in another impressive performance by Knight athletic squads in the latest Academic Progress Rate data released today by the NCAA. Two-thirds of UCF programs equaled or improved their multi-year APR numbers from a year ago—and 11 of 15 sports equaled or improved their single-year figures
 
The UCF women's volleyball program achieved a perfect 1,000 multi-year score for the second consecutive year and the eighth time in 10 years. Women's golf also reached the perfect score for the second year in a row. Women's cross country hit 1,000 for the first time in its history.
 
Seven UCF programs—men's basketball, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's soccer, women's tennis, women's track and field and women's volleyball--had single-year scores of 1,000 for 2020-21 (the record is nine from 2018-19).
 
Eleven Knight programs—baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, football, women's cross country, women's rowing, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's tennis, women's track and field and women's volleyball—either improved or equaled their single-year APR score from a year ago. Men's basketball made the biggest jump from 942 to 1000, women's rowing went from 970 to 994, while women's soccer went from 980 to 1,000.
 
Ten Knight programs—baseball, football, men's soccer, women's cross country, women's basketball, women's soccer, women's golf, women's tennis, women's track and field and women's volleyball—either improved or equaled their multi-year APR score from a year ago.
 
None of UCF's teams fell below the multi-year threshold where programs could be penalized by the NCAA. This is the 15th consecutive year the Knights have seen each of their teams above that 930 threshold. All UCF programs achieved a multi-year score of at least 960 this year—and each of those achieved at least a 966 single-year score.
 
Among American Athletic Conference programs, women's cross country, women's golf and women's volleyball all tied for first; women's track and field was second; football, men's soccer and softball (tie) were third; women's soccer was fourth, and men's tennis, women's basketball and rowing fifth in the multi-year scores.
 
Among Football Bowl Subdivision programs in the state of Florida (UCF, USF, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Florida International)—UCF's football program ranked first at 984, with Miami next at 982 and Florida third at 981. The Knights also ranked number one among that group in multi-year scores for women's cross country, women's volleyball, women's basketball, women's golf and men's golf.
 
That 984 multi-year football score ranks the Knights 15th among FBS Power 5 programs—second in the Big 12 (behind only Iowa State at 986), third in the Southeastern Conference, fourth in the Pacfic-12 Conference and fifth in both the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference.
 
 
 
 
 
Here is a look at APR multi-year (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21) and single-year (2020-21) scores for each sport at UCF released today by the NCAA, with last year's scores in parentheses:
 
Sport                                              Multi-Year Score                           Single-Year Score
Women's Cross Country –       1000 (993)                                    1000 (1000)
Women's Golf –                          1000 (1000)                                  967 (1000)
Women's Volleyball –               1000 (1000)                                  1000 (1000)
Women's Track and Field –        996 (990)                                      1000 (1000)
Women's Soccer –                        995 (995)                                      1000 (980)
Softball –                                      994 (1000)                                    990 (1000)
Men's Golf –                                 992 (1,000)                                   971 (1000)
Men's Tennis –                             990 (992)                                      966 (1000)
Women's Basketball –                 987 (982)                                      1000 (1000)
Women's Rowing –                     986 (987)                                      994 (970)
Women's Tennis –                        985 (984)                                      1000 (1000)
Football –                                      984 (983)                                      990 (985)
Men's Soccer –                             983 (982)                                      974 (974)
Baseball –                                     969 (969)                                      971 (962)
Men's Basketball –                       960 (961)                                      1000 (942)


The history of UCF 1000 multi-year scores includes eight by women's tennis (2012-19), seven by women's volleyball (2013-16, 2018, 2021-22), two by women's golf (2021-22) and men's golf (2018, 2021) and one each by women's soccer (2020), softball (2021) and women's cross country (2022).


Over the 17 years the NCAA has tracked APR data (since 2004), here is the history of perfect 1000 scores posted on a single-year basis by UCF programs:
--14 by women's tennis (including 13 of the last 14 years)
--13 by women's volleyball (12 of the last 13 years)
--10 by women's golf (six of the last nine years)
--9 by men's golf (eight of the last 11 years) and women's cross country
--8 by women's soccer (six of the last eight years)
--7 by softball (five of the last eight years) and women's basketball (four of the last seven years)
--5 by women's track and field
--4 by women's rowing (two of the last three years)
--3 each by men's basketball and men's tennis
--1 each by football and baseball
 
The release of APR information today by the NCAA includes data through the 2020-21 academic year. The APR score takes into account graduation, retention and eligibility to determine a clear picture of the current academic culture of a program. The NCAA uses multi-year averages to track a program's academic progress. The multi-year rate includes the previous four years' worth of data—from 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21. The APR, created to provide more of a real-time measurement of academic success than graduation rates offer, is a team-based metric in which scholarship student-athletes earn one point each term for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating.