Miami Ohio University Athletics
RedHawk Head Coaches Exceed National APR Averages
8/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | General
Aug. 6, 2010
OXFORD, Ohio - The consistently high Academic Progress Rate scores annually earned by Miami University student-athletes are reflected in today's initial compilation of APR scores for head coaches in selected sports.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association's release of APR data starting with the 2003-04 academic year shows that four Miami head coaches consistently produce teams who beat the average Division I APR score for their respective sport.
The NCAA announced yearly APR scores for all Division I head coaches in baseball (Dan Simonds), men's basketball (Charlie Coles), women's basketball (Maria Fantanarosa) and football (Michael Haywood). The four current RedHawk coaches had teams who earned an APR score above the Division I APR score for their respective sport a combined 15 of a possible 19 times since the NCAA began compiling APR data in 2003-04.
Simonds saw his teams beat the Division I average every year (6 of 6), including his 2004 season as the head baseball coach at Xavier. His six-year average of nearly 968 was a full 30 points above the Division I average.
Coles' last six RedHawk teams have an average APR score of just more than 966, nearly 28 points higher than the Division I average.
Fantanarosa's last six Miami squads average nearly 978, some 17 points higher than the Division I average.
Haywood's Miami football team had a 968 APR score in 2009, 24 points better than the Division I average of 944. The five previous teams of his predecessors--Shane Montgomery and Terry Hoeppner--all exceeded the national average by an average of 35 points.
With Thursday's announcement, the NCAA has launched a database at its website that can be accessed by the public to view the APR history of all current Division I head coaches, for all schools where they have been the head coach. The NCAA will announce APR data for current head coaches in other sports in 2011.
Created by the Committee on Academic Performance at the behest of the Division I Board of Directors, the database is designed to create more transparency in the Academic Performance Program and strengthen the accountability of coaches for the academic performance of their student-athletes.
--www.MURedHawks.com--
