Seventeen of 18 University of Hawai'i teams surveyed showed improvement in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate and women's volleyball was honored for excellence, but baseball was hit with scholarship sanctions for the third time in four years.

Baseball, which grants 11.7 scholarships, lost the equivalent of 0.48 of a scholarship last year and 1.17 in 2006. It will lose 0.27 for next year after posting a multi-year APR average of 922, according to scores announced yesterday.

Meanwhile, women's volleyball received a public recognition award for being in the top 10 percent nationally with a near-perfect 996 score over a five-year period.

The APR is considered a snapshot of academic progress and is used by the NCAA and its members to measure academic success. Elements are eligibility, retention and graduation. Each athlete can add two points to the team's overall score per semester, including one for academic eligibility and one for returning to school the next semester.

A score of 925 is considered a passing mark by the NCAA, equating to approximately a 60 percent Graduation Success Rate. A "perfect" score is 1,000. Teams below 925 that have at least one athlete failing when leaving the school can lose a scholarship or portion thereof. Teams can lose up to 10 percent of their scholarships each year for poor academic performance and also face a historical penalty over a multi-year period.

For example, Centenary men's basketball team and Tennessee-Chattanooga's football team were banned from postseason play for sub-standard performance.

At UH, baseball and men's basketball, with each had APRs of 922, were the only two UH sports under the multi-year benchmark. Men's basketball, which lost one scholarship last year, was not sanctioned this year. Both had single-year gains in APR.

Only women's tennis among the 18 sports surveyed (the NCAA does not include sailing) failed to improve on its single-year numbers over the previous year.

Last year, in addition to men's basketball, football lost one scholarship and baseball 0.48.

"I'm very pleased we made improvement in all but one sport," said athletic director Jim Donovan. "This is something that takes a multi-level commitment — from coaches, players, support staff and administration. This is what it is all about, doing well in school."

Six of the nine Western Athletic Conference members — Boise State, UH, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State and San Joe State — received scholarship sanctions in at least one sport. Idaho, Nevada and Utah State lost no scholarships while San Jose State was sanctioned in three sports and New Mexico State in two.

Still, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said, "it appears there has been improvement across the board and that falls in line with the WAC's Strategic Plan to identify (academics) as an important area. I think our schools have taken it very seriously."

Some of the other colleges penalized included (all men unless noted): Auburn basketball (1 scholarship), Colorado basketball (1), Indiana basketball (2), Mississippi football (3), Ohio State basketball (2), Portland State football (3.3), Purdue basketball (1) and Tennessee basketball (1).

ACADEMIC PROGRESS RATE

WHAT IT IS: The Academic Progress Rate was implemented by the NCAA to encourage academic performance and help institutions examine admissions policies, retention and graduation rates, as well as improve academic support for athletes.

HOW IT'S IMPLEMENTED: The NCAA tracks the APR for every Division I program to see if the athlete:

a) remained at the school;

b) stayed academically eligible and ultimately graduated.

HOW SCORE IS DETERMINED: Points are awarded, player by player, and the NCAA has determined that teams should hit 92.5 percent of their possible total — an APR of 925. That, the association says, projects a 60 percent graduation rate.

Example: Each semester a basketball player who remains at his school and remains eligible (or graduates) scores two of a possible two points. A player who is academically eligible but transfers or leaves early to prepare for the NBA draft accrues one point. An ineligible player who leaves is, in the NCAA's vernacular, 0-for-2.

PENALTIES: Programs flagged as deficient will be barred from replacing a scholarship player who leaves while academically ineligible. Teams with chronically poor academic track records ultimately could be shut out of such postseason showcases as football bowls and the NCAA basketball tournament.

Source: USA Today