Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Athletics: Football, Golf, Women's Tennis, and Men's Swimming APR Rank Top 10 Percent Nationally

Georgia Tech's football, golf, women's tennis, and men's swimming teams were recognized Wednesday by the NCAA for APR rankings within the top 10 percent of their individual sports. The APR (Academic Progress Rate) was introduced by the NCAA in 2004 as a way of monitoring schools' commitments to their athletes, ensuring that they were progressing towards graduation each semester. The maximum possible score is 1000, and teams that score under 925 are subject to penalties.

The football team's score has either gone up every year so far under Coach Paul Johnson in his tenure, but this year holding steady at 983 from last year. It's been a thing of pride for Johnson that he was able to improve a very poor situation left for him by Chan Gailey, and now he finds his team in the top 10% nationally for the second year in a row.

The golf team under Bruce Heppler has scored a perfect 1,000 every single season since the APR's installation. His team's score will be released May 14, but similar results are expected. As for men's swimming and women's tennis, it is a first for each to rank in the top 10% nationally.

“Our vision is to create a top tier athletic department with excellence not only on the playing fields, but also in the classroom,” Georgia Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski said. “These recent APR scores are an indicator that we are making good progress towards part of this goal.”

Congratulations to these four teams for getting it done on the field (or court, or course, or pool) AND in this classroom! #WeAreThe10Percent