University of Southern California Athletics Hit A New APR Record In 2023

USC Athletics has set a new department record in earning a multiyear 2023 NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 990 thanks to seventeen of its 21 sports earning scores equal to or improved from 2022, according to data that was released today (May 2).

Among the seventeen Trojan sports equalling or exceeding their previous scores, nine teams set or equaled their all-time best APR, and 19 USC squads had an APR that was above or equal to the national Division I average for their sport.

A team’s APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation to generate a measure of academic performance. Each year, the APR creates a snapshot of a team’s academic success as it tracks the progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The 2023 APR is a multiyear rate based on scores from the 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years. APR scores below 930 lead to penalties that include practice restrictions, playing season reductions and postseason ineligibility. The NCAA began tracking APR in 2004-05.

“We are proud to announce that the academic achievements of our student-athletes have surpassed expectations, yet again,” Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Academic Services Heather Bell said. “We owe this success not only to the hard work and dedication of our athletes but also to the unwavering support and collaboration of our Student-Athlete Academic Services staff, campus partners, coaches and esteemed faculty. Together, we have nurtured a culture of excellence that has empowered our student-athletes to achieve their full potential, on and off the field, and we are grateful for their contributions to this ongoing success. We are excited about what the future holds for our student-athletes and look forward to continued success and growth in all areas of their academic and athletic pursuits.”

USC’s 2023 APR score of 990 is a new department high and continues the Trojans’ upward overall trajectory. It follows last year’s record-setting tally of 988, which was an improvement from 985 in 2020. The NCAA did not release its annual scorecard of academic achievement for all Division I teams in 2021, taking a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Sixteen Trojan teams had at least a 990 APR, including nine at 1,000 (men’s basketball, men’s tennis, men’s track, women’s beach volleyball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s tennis, women’s track and women’s volleyball). It was the eighth consecutive ranking that women’s cross country has hit the 1,000 mark, while women’s golf did so for the sixth straight time and women’s track for the third time in a row. Men’s tennis, meanwhile, picked up its second straight 1,000 ranking, and women’s beach volleyball, one of USC’s newest sports, was at 1,000 for the fifth time in its six all-time rankings. Men’s basketball and women’s volleyball have scored their first-ever 1,000 ratings to set new program highs.

Besides those nine squads that recorded a perfect 1,000 mark, the seven other USC teams this year with at least a 990 APR were women’s soccer (997), men’s volleyball (996), men’s water polo (995), men’s swimming and diving (994), women’s swimming and diving (994), women’s rowing (993) and baseball (990).

USC’s 17 squads that equaled or exceeded their APR score from 2022 were: women’s volleyball (+25), men’s basketball (+12), men’s swimming and diving (+8), women’s tennis (+8), women’s swimming and diving (+6), men’s track (+5), women’s water polo (+5), women’s lacrosse (+2), men’s tennis (same), men’s volleyball (same), women’s basketball (same), women’s cross country (same), women’s rowing (same), women’s golf (same), women’s soccer (same), women’s beach volleyball (same) and women’s track (same).

The nine teams that set or equaled all-time high APRs were: men’s basketball (1,000), women’s volleyball (1,000), men’s tennis (1,000), women’s cross country (1,000), women’s golf (1,000), women’s tennis (1,000), women’s track (1,000), men’s swimming and diving (994) and women’s swimming and diving (994),

Men’s basketball’s all-time high 1,000 was 12 points better than the program’s previous best. Women’s volleyball’s new program high of 1,000 is 10 points better then its previous best, and men’s swimming and diving’s new high mark of 994 is eight better than its prior record.

Football’s 2023 APR of 972 marks the program’s fifth consecutive ranking with at least 970 APR.

USC’s 19 teams whose multiyear APR exceeded or equaled the national Division I average for their sport were: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s beach volleyball, women’s cross country, football, women’s golf, women’s rowing, women’s soccer, men’s swimming and diving, women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s volleyball, women’s volleyball, men’s water polo, women’s water polo, men’s track and women’s track.

In the 2021-22 single-year calculation that goes into the overall multiyear APR score, 13 USC teams registered a perfect 1,000 score (men’s basketball, men’s tennis, men’s track, men’s volleyball, women’s beach volleyball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s rowing, women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, women’s tennis, women’s track and women’s volleyball).

No USC sport was close to the NCAA APR of 930 that leads to penalties. In fact, all USC teams were at least 42 points above that baseline standard.

USC’s NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 93 percent — announced in November 2022 — also set a new all-time high for the ninth consecutive time.