NCAA Comes Down Hard on HBCUs
Filed in HBCUs on May 29, 2015

ncaa1The National Collegiate Athletic Association recently announced penalties for colleges and universities that did not reach mandated thresholds on its Academic Progress Rate (APR). Athletic teams that do not achieve a sufficient APR rate — roughly equivalent to a 50 percent graduation rate — can face a reduction in practice times, athletic scholarships, and bans from postseason play.

The NCAA announced that 21 teams will be ineligible for the postseason play during the 2015-16 academic year due to their low APR. Of the 21 teams subjected to postseason bans, 15 are from historically Black colleges and universities. Five teams at Florida A&M University face postseason bans.

Here are the HBCUs and their teams that have received postseason bans:

Alabama State University: football
Alcorn State University: men’s basketball
Florida A&M University: football, men’s basketball, men’s indoor track, men’s outdoor track, men’s cross country
Howard University: men’s soccer
Mississippi Valley State University: baseball
Prairie View A&M University: men’s golf, men’s indoor track, men’s outdoor track
Savannah State University: football, women’s basketball
Tennessee State University: football

Update: Tennessee State University reports that the NCAA rechecked its APR data for the university’s football program and determined that there would be no postseason ban for Tennessee State.


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