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What a great year it’s been for the California Golden Bears in the classroom. After some down years with regards to academic performance in both the football and the basketball program, Cal football (after being last in academics for years) moved into the upper tier of APR in the Pac-12.
Cal football registered a 2015-16 APR of 991, following up a record 997. This single year APR was the highest in the Pac-12 in 2015-16. The multiyear APR moved up to 978, a jump of almost 33 points.
Cal basketball registered a 2015-16 APR of 1000 for the second year in a row. The one-year APR jumped from 939 to 970.
Cal football is now fourth in multiyear APR in the Pac-12, trailing Stanford (985), Washington (984) and Utah (983). Cal basketball is currently situated at seventh, trailing Stanford (1000), ASU & Utah (990), Washington (986), Colorado (975), and Arizona (974).
Seven programs put together perfect 1000 scores (women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, men’s water polo).
"After a period of less-than-satisfactory results, we have seen tremendous academic improvement in both our football and men's basketball programs," Williams said. "One of our primary goals as a department is to offer a comprehensive student-athlete experience, which includes providing the resources necessary for success both academically and athletically. The steps we have taken over the past few years are producing their desired outcome, and these scores help demonstrate that student-athletes can and do excel in all their endeavors at our university."
In all, a school-record 14 teams had one-year APR scores of 1,000 for the 2015-16 academic year. In addition to men's basketball, they were: men's and women's cross country, women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, volleyball, and men's and women's water polo.
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. The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years.
Results are not tabulated for men's crew and rugby, which are not NCAA sports, or beach volleyball. Teams must compile a multi-year score of 930 or higher or risk losing eligibility to compete in NCAA postseason championships.