Hawk programs on watch list
By Steve Batterson
Under revised data released this week, the men’s basketball program at Iowa has been added to a list of programs that could lose a scholarship in future years for failing to achieve minimum standards of the NCAA’s new academic progress ratings.
The Iowa wrestling program also has been added to a list of programs that would receive a written warning that additional ineligibilities or attrition could lead to similar penalties.
Both programs fared better when preliminary data was released by the NCAA in February, but institutions had through March to correct any reporting errors of the figures that measure semester-by-semester progress and retention numbers of every athlete in every program at the Division I level.
According to the NCAA, errors in calculating eligibility were cited as the most frequent reason why almost 16 percent of the scores nationally changed from the February report. Almost 11 percent of the changes resulted in increased scores.
That wasn’t the case for the two Iowa programs.
The Iowa men’s basketball program would have received a written warning for its score of 905 in February, but the final Academic Progress Rate for the Hawkeyes is an 870. A repeat of that score in the future could lead to penalties.
A 925 rating ” which roughly equates to a 50 percent graduation rate ” is considered acceptable.
The Iowa wrestling program was given a 963 in February but has a 919 total in the revised report, falling within the so-called “upper confidence boundary.”
That is what the NCAA labels a margin of error built into the system to accommodate small sampling groups. That means that while the actual number falls below 925, the NCAA believes the number would top that level if a larger group of athletes were part of the sample. In those instances, a written warning would be sent but no penalties would be applied.
Programs that consistently fall below the 925 mark could face sanctions, including the loss of scholarships. The NCAA will begin implementing those penalties within the next year after data from the 2004-05 school year is collected.
Repeat offenders could be banned from postseason play, but that won’t be enforced until the fall of 2008.
During a teleconference when the original reports were released, NCAA president Myles Brand labeled the release of annual APR reports as part of the most far-reaching academic reform in college athletics in decades.
“It holds schools accountable for the performance of their student-athletes,” Brand said.
Overall, Iowa, Illinois and Iowa State generally fare well in the APR reports. The total programs at Iowa and Illinois would rate in the top 30 percent nationally, while Iowa State would end up with fewer programs failing to meet the standards than any other school in the Big 12.
After the revisions, a total of six percent of all NCAA programs failed to meet the 925 standard, and 51 percent of Division I programs have at least one program that fails to reach that level.
“We hope the behavior changes and the number of teams will actually go down over time,” Brand said.
Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or [email protected].
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