Black Colleges Bear the Brunt of the NCAA’s APR Penalties

Recently the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced penalties for colleges and universities that had poor records in achieving academic success for their student athletes. The APR scores measure academic progress towards a degree, retention of student athletes, and the graduation rate of student athletes.

This year, 33 of the 103 institutions that received some form of sanctions from the NCAA were historically black colleges and universities. Half of the 58 schools that received the most severe penalties, including loss of athletics scholarships, were HBCUs. Of all schools assessed for the APR report, only 7 percent are HBCUs.

At Howard University alone, there were eight teams that scored below the minimum APR score. Both the football team and the women’s lacrosse team were assessed penalties in the form of reduced scholarships.

The NCAA’s Committee on Academic Performance is in the process of reviewing the APR assessment and penalties. They have indicated that they will address the fact that the system has a severe negative impact on black colleges and universities.