TOWSON, Md. – Five Towson University athletic teams have been honored by the NCAA with the 2018-19 Public Recognition Award, combining academic excellence and retention rate.
The NCAA Public Recognition Award has been presented to Towson baseball, women's cross country, men's golf, women's gymnastics and women's tennis.
"We are incredibly proud of baseball, men's golf, cross country, gymnastics and tennis for the excellence they have demonstrated in the classroom," said Towson deputy athletic director Tricia Turley Brandenburg. "Our student-athletes continue to be champions in competition, the classroom and the community. Today's recognition from the NCAA demonstrates our continued commitment to build greatness."
APR rates were not released publicly today, but in the NCAA release, the organization posted that all women's teams that earned the Public Recognition Award had a perfect 1000 APR score, including Towson women's cross country, gymnastics and tennis. APRs for men's programs in the top-10% ranged from 987 to 1000.
All three Towson women's teams have earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award multiple years in a row. This is the 11th straight year for women's cross country, sixth year in a row for tennis and fourth consecutive year for gymnastics.
Men's golf earned its third NCAA Public Recognition Award in the last four years while baseball is back in the top-10% for the first time since 2017.
The award is given to the teams in the top-10% of Division I programs in the most recent Academic Progress Rate (APR) release, sent out today by the NCAA. The APR holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term, according to the NCAA's mission statement. The NCAA Public Recognition Award announcement encompasses the academic years from 2015-16 to 2018-19.
"The number of teams earning Public Recognition Awards — including those earning perfect scores — has increased again, demonstrating the commitment member schools and college athletes have made to high academic achievement," NCAA President Mark Emmert said in the official release. "Congratulations to these teams for their continued academic success."
