NATCHITOCHES – Three perfect 1,000 scores, with 10 of 14 sports either raising or maintaining their results since last year, and extending a  penalty-free record in the history of the NCAA's annual Academic Progress Rates report had Northwestern State director of athletics Greg Burke smiling broadly Wednesday.
 
The NSU baseball, men's basketball and women's tennis teams all recorded 1,000 APR single-year scores. It was the second straight perfect score for basketball and tennis, the fourth in the eight-year history of the APR for Lady Demon tennis and the third 1,000 for Demon basketball.
 
Along with the repeat 1,000 scores, eight NSU sports raised their single-year APR in 2010-11: baseball (1,000, plus 42 points), women's indoor track (991, +17), women's soccer (991, +15), women's outdoor track (983, +34), volleyball (982, +22), women's basketball (934, +39), men's indoor track (933, +51), men's cross country (919, +10).
 
“The continued success of our athletic program in the APR reflects the commitment on many levels. It's a very collaborative effort between student-athletes, coaches, academic, and our faculty and university administration,” said Burke.  “Academic achievement is a continuing theme in our department, in fact, one of our three cornerstone values, and I believe that's reflected as year after year we've been penalty-free with many teams posting extremely high scores.
 
“In the very busy lives of student-athletes, especially at the Division I level, keeping academics front and center is critical. It's our job to help them maintain that focus on what they do day in and day out, in the classroom, because ultimately, academic accomplishment and graduation positions them for a happy and successful future,” he said.
 
NCAA sports falling below the established multi-year cutoff point of 900 are subject to penalties including scholarship reductions.  All NSU teams were comfortably above 900 in the multi-year rates and six scored above 960: tennis (984), soccer (978), softball (973), baseball (971), volleyball (970) and men's basketball (960).
 
In multi-year rates, Demon basketball led the Southland Conference, while baseball ranked third in the SLC and men's cross country was third among all Division I Louisiana institutions in that sport.
 
Burke cited the impact of NSU's four-year-old Enhanced Academic Program, which focuses on students who benefit from additional guidance and support particularly early in their college careers.
 
“The EAP has been a tremendous boost for some of our young people in positioning them for a level of academic achievement that they might not have otherwise have reached. We're proud of these student-athletes for the hard work and progress they've shown, and it's not a coincidence that has happened with two of our former student-athletes directing the EAP,” said Burke.
 
Former academic all-conference soccer competitor Carrie Crowell, who now heads NSU's academic support staff, was the original EAP coordinator. Former softball standout Cary Bruno handled that role the last two years, and her successor is newly-appointed academic counselor Kelee Grimes, also an outstanding softball performer who graduated with honors this spring.
 
The APR is a point system based on scholarship athletes' eligibility and retention for a pre-determined time period.  This year's report is for the four-year period beginning in the fall of 2007, and ending in 2010-11. Points are awarded each semester for academic eligibility and retention, with two points possible per semester per student-athlete.