FSU #4 In APR Poll for 2005

USA Today ran a graphic that presented a combination of academic and athletic success of the football programs at ACC member institutions. The newspaper took the final USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll and re-ordered it using the recently released NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR).

The re-organized poll has five ACC teams among the Top 15, including the "academic" No. 1 Boston College with a 982 APR score and Florida State at No. 4 with a 959 score. Miami ranked sixth at 956, Clemson 12th with a 940 and Virginia Tech 14th at 935.

The Academic Progress Rate (APR) metric was developed by the NCAA in 2004 to examine academic success on a more real-time basis. One point is awarded each term to each scholarship student-athlete who meets academic-eligibility standards and an additional point is awarded if they remain with the institution. A team's APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible. A cutoff score of 925 corresponds to an anticipated graduation-rate of about 50%.