Creighton University student athletes are excelling in the classroom as well as on the field or court, according to the Division I Academic Progress Report, released today by the NCAA. The Academic Progress Rate (APR), now in its fourth year, measures the eligibility, retention and graduation rates of student athletes competing on every Division I sports team and also serves as a predictor of graduation success.

Creighton men’s golf and men’s tennis, women’s basketball and women’s cross country each earned a perfect 1,000 and were awarded NCAA Public Recognition Awards for ranking in the top 10 percent of NCAA teams.

Creighton’s four programs are among 712 Division I sports teams honored with the NCAA Public Recognition Award. The awards are part of a broad Division I academic reform effort.

The APR report examines all sports programs and evaluates them in terms of academic progress toward degree completion and graduation. Individual sports are ranked on a 1,000-point scale with 925 being the cut-off score and 1,000 being a perfect score. Overall, each of Creighton’s 14 teams exceeded the NCAA's APR requirements for the 2006-07 academic year with an average score of 981.5, compared to 961 nationally.

Creighton’s 14 Division I teams, including eight women’s and six men’s sports ranked as follows:

•  Four sports had a perfect score—men’s golf and men’s tennis; women’s basketball and women’s cross country.

•  Women’s programs had an aggregate score of 989.5.

•  Men’s programs had an aggregate score of 971.

• Creighton athletics tied 23rd nationally for graduation with a 94 percent success rate.