Sept. 21, 2011

RUSTON, La. - The Louisiana Tech golf and women's bowling program received public recognition for their academic successes as they earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award based on their team Academic Progress Rate (APR).

The award is bestowed on teams that have an NCAA Division I APR in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a picture of the academic culture in each sport.

Head coach Shawn Jackson's women's bowling team and head coach Jeff Parks golf team both earned a perfect APR score of 1,000 from their devotion to the classroom during the 2010-11 academic year.

This year marks the second consecutive that both women's bowling and golf have received the award.

Louisiana Tech's student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom as the University boasts one of the highest graduation rates in the state and in the Western Athletic Conference.