Holy Cross and Sacred Heart Recipients of NCAA Public Recognition Award

NCAA President, Myles Brand, congratulated both Paul Pearl of Holy Cross and Shaun Hannah of Sacred Heart, for being a recipient of the NCAA Public Recognition Award.  This award is provided to those teams that have an NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.

Brand states, "As the head coach, you play a critical role in helping your student-athletes achieve their athletic and academic goals.  The academic success of your team demonstrates your commitment to putting the student-athlete first.  Your teams and student-athletes have demonstrated their commitment in the classroom and in their sport and are setting a great example for all students."

Holy Cross and Sacred Heart were the only two schools from Atlantic Hockey to be honored with the Public Recognition Award.  The Crusaders and the Pioneers join Brown, Harvard, Rensselaer and Yale as the only six Ice Hockey schools to be honored.

Holy Cross and Sacred Heart were two of three Atlantic Hockey schools to score a perfect 1000 Academic Progress Rate for the 2004-05 academic year. 

The APR examines academic success on a more real-time basis. One point is awarded each term to each scholarship student-athlete who meets academic-eligibility standards and an additional point is awarded if they remain with the institution. A team's APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible. A cutoff score of 925 corresponds to an anticipated graduation-rate of about 50%.

Teams that fall below the cutoff score on a statistitically-significant basis are subject to contemporaneous penalties consisting of a loss of scholarships in that sport. These penalties start after two years of data are collected and normally take effect the following academic year. Teams that habititually fail to meet the cutoff can be subject to historical penalties. Historical penalties may include additional scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions, lack of access to postseason competition, and restricted membership.