Ole Miss Athletics Shatter Their Personal APR Record for Academic Performance

Ole Miss Athletics continues to soar in the classroom, breaking the department record for highest APR score yet again with a multi-year average of 991 in the annual APR release by the NCAA on Tuesday.

Nine Ole Miss teams posted perfect single scores-season scores of 1,000 on the latest release of the NCAA's Academic Progress Rates. As a whole, the athletic department yet again broke their multi-year average record, recording a 991 on Tuesday's release. 

The Rebel athletic department as a whole posted a single-year APR score of 986 in the 2018-19 school year. Their new multi-year score of 991 sits eight points above the national average. 

“Ole Miss is a special place for student-athletes, and these APR scores again reflect that,” said Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Development Dr. Bob Baker. “I am super thankful for our staff, administration, faculty and coaches who consistently push our student-athletes to achieve their academic goals, including degree completion, and for supporting them as they compete at the highest level in the best athletic conference in the nation.”

The APR, created to provide more of a real-time measurement of academic success than graduation rates offer, is a team-based metric where scholarship student-athletes earn one point each term for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. Schools that don’t offer scholarships track their recruited student-athletes.

The Rebels sit well above average against not just the NCAA, but also the rest of the SEC. Ole Miss was a whole rests 5.3 points ahead of the SEC average and are tied for the SEC lead in six-different sports. 

As for the football team, their multi-year average of 997 shatters their prior record of 978, putting them No. 3 in the nation behind just Columbia and Washington and 33 points higher than the national average. 

It may seem like a trivial matter, but it actually has significant value. When filling out bowl matchups, if not enough teams finish with the 6-win threshold, teams at a 5-7 record are then selected based on the APR ranking. With more bowl games being added every season, that number matters more and more every year. 

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @SIRebels and @nategabler.