MANHATTAN, Kan. – Highlighted by Big 12-leading marks from the women’s tennis, men’s cross country, women’s cross country and women’s golf programs, all of Kansas State’s athletic teams met and exceeded the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate multi-year standard for the 10th straight year as the NCAA released its latest Division I APR data from the 2020-21 academic year.

In addition, the football program (978) ranked second in the Big 12, men’s basketball (965) fourth and women’s track and field (988) fourth. Other multi-year scores included men’s golf (987), baseball (963), men’s track and field (967), women’s basketball (963), rowing (989), women’s soccer (986) and volleyball (979).

The Academic Progress Rate measures the eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team and also serves as a predictor of graduation success. 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 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21 academic years.

For more information on the Academic Progress Rate, please visit the NCAA website at www.ncaa.org.

K-State, a Tier 1 Carnegie Foundation Institution, has had an outstanding start to the 2021-22 academic year by both individual student-athletes and by its teams.

The soccer program was honored this season by the United Soccer Coaches with its third Team Academic Award, while the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) recognized both Wildcat cross country programs as an Academic All-America team for their work in the classroom. The Wildcats also saw eight student-athletes receive the 12th annual Dr. Gerald Land Academic Achievement Award, the Big 12 Conference’s highest academic honor.

K-State student-athletes have been recognized by the conference with 177 Academic All-Big 12 recipients.

Ayoka Lee of the K-State women’s basketball team and Brookelynn Entz of the soccer program were named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America First and Third Teams, respectively. Football’s Landry Weber and Deuce Vaughn, baseball’s Dylan Phillips and women’s track and field’s Kassidy Johnson and men’s track and field’s TJ Shankar were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team.

K-State Athletics saw 93 student-athletes receive their degrees in graduation ceremonies in Bramlage Coliseum during the 2021-22 academic year.

In the latest graduation rate data released by the NCAA in December, K-State’s all-sport graduation rate of 92% tied for the highest in department history, while eight programs recorded Big 12-best graduation figures.