INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Sun Belt Conference programs continue to excel in the classroom according to the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released by the NCAA national office.
 
In conference-sponsored sports, the Sun Belt posted an overall APR score of 982—a two-point year-over-year increase—with 40 programs earning perfect scores of 1,000 from data submitted for the 2020-21 through 2023-24 academic years. The Sun Belt's 982 overall APR score is its highest in six years. 
 
James Madison led all member schools with five programs recording perfect scores, including men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s soccer, softball and volleyball. Arkansas State, Georgia State and Troy each had four programs post perfect marks, respectively.  
 
Sun Belt beach volleyball and women’s swimming & diving programs tied for the highest single-sport weighted multi-year APR (997), including perfect scores for Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Georgia State, Mercer and UNCW beach volleyball and Marshall women’s swimming & diving. Sun Belt women’s golf had nine of 13 teams record perfect scores. 
 
The APR, created to provide a real-time measurement of academic success rather than the six-year delay with graduation rates, is a team-based metric in which scholarship student-athletes earn one point for each term in which they remain academically eligible and one point for returning to school or graduating. Schools that do not offer athletics aid track the eligibility and retention of their recruited student-athletes within their APR cohorts.
 
Every Division I athletics program submits data to the NCAA as part of the Academic Progress Rate calculation. The NCAA reports both single-year and four-year rates. National aggregates are based on all teams with usable, member-provided data.