Monday, June 16, 2014
by Davidson Athletic Media Relations

CLEVELAND - The Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) announced Davidson as the recipient of the Academic Progress Rate (APR) Award for the Pioneer Football League for the fifth consecutive year Tuesday.

The APR Award recognizes one institution at each of the 13 FCS conferences that has the highest APR score.  In addition, the Association also recognizes one institution from each conference that has improved the most from the previous year.

Davidson's streak is the longest in the country.

"Our Association is pleased to present these awards to spotlight one true mission of all FCS programs, embracing the academic progress of their student-athletes, who will become leaders off the field," said FCS ADA President Brian Hutchinson, director of athletics at Morehead State University. "We are happy to continue to recognize the FCS institutions and their football programs for continuing to reach exemplary APR scores."

It was previously announced in May by the NCAA that Davidson football earned public recognition for its APR score. Davidson and fellow PFL member Dayton have received Public Recognition Awards in football in each of the nine seasons they have been awarded, which also leads the country.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member colleges and universities adopted a comprehensive academic reform package designed to improve the academic success and graduation of all student-athletes.  The centerpiece of the package is the academic measurement for teams, known as the APR.

The following institutions have been ranked in their respective conference with the highest APR score the past two years, Big Sky - UC Davis; Northeast Conference - Bryant; and Southern Conference - Wofford. Alabama A & M (SWAC) has earned this distinction for the third straight year, while Central Arkansas and Davidson earned this distinction for the fourth and fifth years in a row, respectively.

Davidson is poised to continue its success into the next academic year. With a team GPA of at least 3.00 as one of the program's biggest goals, the team averaged a 3.02 GPA this past spring. Twenty-four returnees posted a GPA above 3.00, while eight posted a GPA of 3.5 or higher.