DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman Athletics has scored yet another pair of victories, academically, as the Wildcats have earned recognition both from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and from the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) for academic progress in football and women's golf, Director of Athletics Lynn W. Thompson announced Thursday.

“National recognition of the academic success of our athletics programs is a product of a committed effort by our coaching staff, student-athletes and our Office of Student-Athlete Support,” Thompson said. “As we continue to build towards future success, the foundation for winning championships clearly begins with high caliber student-athletes who are mentored and motivated by a staff committed to academic excellence."

The Wildcat football program is set to receive the FCS ADA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Award for Most Improved Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) school after improving to an APR score of 935 during the 2010-11 school year.

“It goes to show the effort of not only our coaches, but our academic advisors, and the commitment to education by our players,” said Head Football Coach Brian Jenkins. “Combined with our on-field success, it speaks volumes about the total effort of our program and how well-rounded it is becoming.”

The APR Award recognizes one institution from all 14 FCS conferences with the highest conference APR score. Additionally, the FCS ADA recognizes one institution from each conference with the greatest improvement from the previous year. With a tie in the Ivy League, 29 total awards will be presented this year.

In addition to the football honors, women's golf earned an NCAA APR Public Recognition Award, posting a perfect APR score of 1000 during the 2010-11 season.

“It shows that they're able to balance, and that they understand exactly what their title means as student-athletes,” said Head Golf Coach Loritz Clark. “It's a great accomplishment because they were able to successfully balance the class work and work on the course, as we finished with a PGA Collegiate Minority National Championship as well.”

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member colleges and universities adopted a comprehensive academic reform package designed to improve the academic success and graduation of all student-athletes. The centerpiece of the package is the academic measurement for teams, known as the APR.

APR scores are a measure of classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team based on the eligibility and retention for each semester or quarter. NCAA awards are based on the multi-year APR scores from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.

The football award will be presented during the during the FCS ADA Luncheon sponsored by UPS, on Monday, June 25 in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

###