MCCOLLUM'S COLUMN: Initial data generally good, but still challenging for UCA

To use an appropriate athletic metaphor, it's early in the first quarter, shortly after kickoff.

And the University's of Central Arkansas' first APR as an NCAA Division I member furnishes plenty of things to feel good about and a few challenges to address down the line.

It's a good benchmark, but it's far from a perfect benchmark.

APR is a formula that measures retention, eligibility and retention rates of every NCAA scholarship-athlete at every institution. It's a formula that sends a signal that the NCAA is serious about scholarship athletes staying in school and getting a degree and there's accountability and teeth for non-compliance.

Bear in mind the gauge is performance over five years. The date has just been released about UCA's first year in Division I.

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Without getting into higher math, the number to key on is 925, which represents a 60 percent graduation. That's the standard that must be met or exceeded over time. A chronic history of missing the mark could result in loss of scholarships, practice limitations and postseason bans for the offending sports. There is a bit of wiggle room. For example, some adjustments can be made if the graduation rate for athletes exceeds that for the student body even it is falls below 925.

Here are the recently released APR figures for UCA for the last year:

MEN'S SPORTS: Baseball, 946; basketball, 840; cross country, 864; football, 910; golf, 1000; soccer, 919; track, 923.

WOMEN'S SPORTS: Basketball, 907; cross country, 971; golf, 1,000, soccer, 939; softball, 925; tennis, 964; track, 873; volleyball, 975.

The golf represents a 100 percent graduation rate but is somewhat deceptive because both the men and women had very small squads. It's a similar situation for cross country although from a different perspective. Track was a start-up program.

Most sports are above 900 even if they fall short of 925. Those are creditable initial measurement with volleyball setting a high bar. The sports in the 800s are not in bad shape for the first year of a provisional period.

And remember, these are just the first marks on the board of a long-term, continuous process.

"It's basically good, but there are several things we need to work on," said Brad Teague, UCA athletic director. "Some of the figures are a bit skewered. For one, not all of the sports had full squads of scholarship athletes and the formula is adjusted for squad size, which can skewer things either way. For example, golf looks good at 1,000 but if one player had dropped out or transfer, then it would have made a big difference; then golf's about at 800 and one of the lower numbers.

"In any kind of transition period, you're going to have dropouts and transfers. Last fall, we had 40 or more for various reasons. That's to be expected when you're moving from one level to the next."

According to the latest data, the NCAA average for institutions that have been measured for three straight years is 967.1, which is close to a 70 percent graduation rate. It has gone up each year since the APR came into effect in 2005.

Note that while institutions are accountable, so is each sport. If a school or sport has a score of 900 or below three straight years, it faces a possible postseason ban, loss of scholarships and limitations on practice, not to mention public embarrassment.

Any athlete who transfers hurts an institution. If that athlete transfers or drops out while failing academically, it results in a double-slam on the formula and puts that sport in a deeper hole. Bottom line, if an athlete transfers or moves on, he needs to do it with a passing grade.

"For any sport that falls below 900, the coaches have to submit remedial plans to us," Teague said. "But I think our coaching staff has done a good job of recognizing the importance of academics and recruiting students who are not only athletically talented but are serious about academics. The people most of them have recruited or are recruiting now have the potential to raise the figure."

The bottom line is there is a clear measuring stick that is carefully monitored by NCAA officials. It's not a perfect or even a completely pure gauge. But it's a standard by which falling blatantly short carries consequences for every sport.

In UCA's case, right now we have a snapshot. The picture will become clearer over time.

(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached by calling 505-1235 or at david.mccollum@thecabin.net)