RUSTON – Louisiana Tech registered its highest ever single-year average (984.3) and highest ever multi-year average (977.8) as the most recent Academic Progress Rates (APR) for the 2020-21 academic year were released by the NCAA on Tuesday.
 
This marked the seventh consecutive year the single-year average has increased and the eighth consecutive year the multi-year average has increased at LA Tech.
 
Eight programs recorded a perfect 1,000 single-year APR score – the most ever during the 18 years of the academic measurement – while all 16 of LA Tech's Division I programs remained penalty-free.
 
Programs registering a perfect single-year rating were Baseball (second time ever), Men's Cross Country (fourth year in a row), Golf (10th time ever), Women's basketball (second time in last three years), Women's Cross Country (sixth year in a row), Softball (second time in last three years), Soccer (second time ever) and Volleyball (third time in last four years).
 
Meanwhile, four programs – Men's Cross Country (1,000), Men's Track and Field (958), Women's Cross Country (1,000) and Volleyball (989) – also set new record highs in their multi-year rate.
 
"The commitment to achieve academic success by our student-athletes is at an all-time high," said Director of Athletics Dr. Eric A. Wood.  "These numbers are a direct reflection of the continued hard work put in by our Bulldogs and Lady Techsters as well as our coaching and student-athlete success staffs." 
 
Eleven programs ended up tallying a multi-year rate of at least 970, which is the most ever.
 
APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each quarter, back 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.  Each sport earns a single-year rate and then a multi-year rate, which is a four-year average of the single-year rates.
 
Just recently, LA Tech set other academic records as 230 student-athletes were named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and 75 student-athletes received the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal. 
 
A total of 55 Bulldogs and Lady Techsters earned their diplomas during the 2021-22 academic year.