May 17, 2011

OXFORD, Miss. - Among the elite programs academically in the nation, the Ole Miss women's golf and softball teams received public recognition awards Tuesday from the NCAA for their latest Academic Progress Rates (APR). 

Each year the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear APR. This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams who demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports. Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport.

Both the women's golf and softball teams at Ole Miss earned a perfect 1,000 APR. 

“The ultimate goal of intercollegiate athletics is to provide student-athletes the opportunity to compete at the highest level and receive a college degree,” said Lynnette Johnson, Executive Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman’s Administrator.  “The women’s golf program has proven that to be true with their third consecutive top 10 percent award. The softball team has worked very hard in the classroom, and we applaud their first of many of this award.”

Ole Miss is among only 70 Division I women's golf teams and four SEC squads to earn the distinction.  Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Michele Drinkard, the Rebel golfers earned their third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and ended the year ranked No. 42. 

he Rebel softball team is among just 37 Division I teams and only two SEC squads to receive the distinction.   Highlighting the softball team this year, RT Cantillo was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.  She is the sixth player in school history to earn SEC All-Freshman honors.

“It is a great honor to have two teams recognized by the NCAA for their efforts in the classroom,” said Karen Schiferl, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic Support. “We are especially proud of the women’s golf team for earning this distinction for the third straight year.”

The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team’s academic performance.

Full APR scores for all teams, including penalties for low-performing teams, will be released May 24.