Western Kentucky University’s student-athletes continue to have strong performances in the classroom as well as on the field as the NCAA released its Annual Progress Report on Wednesday.

The APR provides a real-time look at a program’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team’s academic performance. This year, the APR score was a multiyear average of the 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years.

Every Hilltopper and Lady Topper program exceeded the NCAA’s mandated 930 minimum and 11 programs (out of 14) surpassed that threshold by 40 points or more.

WKU is one of seven C-USA member schools to have 11 programs post 970 or higher scores in the 2017-18 APR report, highlighted by three programs (volleyball, women’s golf, women’s tennis) that posted perfect 1,000 APR scores.

Those three programs also received NCAA Academic Performance Program Public Recognition Awards last week for having a multiyear APR score in the top 10 percent nationally. All three sport programs have at least one student-athlete participating in commencement activities this week. Volleyball has received the recognition award each of the 14 years the program has existed while women’s tennis and women’s golf received their fifth and third consecutive awards, respectively.

The Division I Board of Directors set a score of 930 as the threshold for teams to meet or face possible immediate and historical sanctions.

Programs falling below the 930 benchmark face penalties such as practice time reduction, scholarship reduction and possible postseason bans.

During 2018-19, 69 student-athletes have earned their degrees from WKU, with 22 others previously graduating in December, and those student-athletes combined for an overall grade point average of 3.21. Among those completing their undergraduate coursework, soccer’s Megan Morris led all Lady Toppers in this commencement class with a 3.97 cumulative GPA while earning her degree in accounting, and Blake Smith from men’s golf led all Hilltoppers with a 3.77 cumulative GPA while earning his finance degree.