Women's Soccer Earns NCAA Public Recognition Award

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Presbyterian College women’s soccer team has earned a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA for its latest Academic Progress Report (APR) score. The distinction honors PC women’s soccer for an APR in the top 10 percent of Division I women’s soccer programs in the nation.

“I’m extremely proud of our players’ dedication to the academic side of their college experience and their commitment to our soccer program,” said head women's soccer coach Brian Purcell. “It takes a tremendous amount of self-discipline to be successful at an institution with the academic demands of Presbyterian College while competing as a Division I student-athlete.”

The Blue Hose are one of 13 athletic programs in the Big South Conference and the only League women’s soccer team to receive a Public Recognition Award. This year’s award marks the third straight for the program as well.

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. 

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 honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear APR (the most recent APRs are based on scores from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years). 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.  By measuring eligibility and retention each semester or quarter, the APR provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.