BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Three Lady Topper athletic teams were honored on Wednesday for their success in the classroom as volleyball, women's tennis and women's golf received NCAA Academic Performance Program Public Recognition Awards for having a multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in the top 10 percent nationally through the 2017-18 academic year.
"Academic achievement is a top priority for our coaches and student-athletes at WKU," Director of Athletics Todd Stewart said. "This recognition is a testament to their hard work and dedication in the classroom where they are truly achieving at the highest levels."
It marks the 14th-straight year the Lady Topper volleyball program has ranked in the top 10 percent nationally, and WKU has now had multiple programs honored for four consecutive seasons for the first time since the program began. Out of 1,300 teams from 321 NCAA Division 1 schools to receive the award this season, WKU's volleyball program is one of only 73 to earn the award in each of the 14 years of the program. The Lady Toppers are also one of only two sport programs in Conference USA to have a 14-year streak, joined by Rice's women's cross country team.
The women's tennis program has now earned the award in five consecutive seasons while women's golf earned their third consecutive award.
WKU is one of six Conference USA member institutions to have three or more sport programs honored with Public Recognition Awards, joining Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee, UAB, Rice and UTSA. As a whole, the league had 36 sport programs honored on Wednesday, up from 29 a season ago.
The APR provides a real-time look at a program'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.
The programs recognized Wednesday posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport. The full APR report will be released on May 22.
Over the past calendar year, 86 WKU student-athletes received their diploma from the University with 50 graduating in May 2018, 14 completed their degrees in the summer, while 22 received their degrees this past December. The cumulative GPA of the 86 graduates was 3.21
Western Kentucky University Athletics
- Champions Climb Here
- WKU Athletics
- Athletic Director
- Academic Services
- Annual Report
- Athletic Communications
- Athletic Hall of Fame
- Athletic Training
- Big Red
- CLIMB Program - NIL
- Compliance
- Facilities
- Financial Reports
- For Students
- Student Employment
- Forms/Requests
- Book Big Red
- Donation Requests
- Site Feedback
- For Fans
- Hilltopper Highlights
- Gameday Promotions
- Alumni Tailgates
- Big Red's Rascals
- Basketball Gameday
- Football Gameday
- Mobile Tickets
- Travel Center
- Tickets
- Give
